INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Sorry, Buffalo.
Tom Brady apologized Thursday for an off-the-cuff comment about Buffalo hotels. A day earlier, he said that hotels there are "not the nicest places in the world."
In response, one of the top hotels in Buffalo offered a free night's stay to show him he's wrong. Brady appreciated the offer and said he was sorry for his comment. He suggested he should have picked a "non-NFL city" in his comment about places to stay that he didn't particularly enjoy.
The Patriots play the New York Giants in the Super Bowl on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Giants ended the Patriots' bid for a perfect season in the NFL title game four years ago.
WEST COAST CONNECTION: If the NFL puts a team in Los Angeles, it is probable the league would expand to 34 franchises.
Appearing Thursday night on "Costas Live" on NBC Sports Network, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league "doesn't want to move any of our teams."
"We probably don't want to go to 33" teams by adding just one new club if a suitable stadium is built in the Los Angeles area, Goodell said. Instead, the league would consider adding two. An odd number of teams would pose scheduling problems, including at least one club being off each week, and would create one division with five teams.
There has been speculation an L.A. stadium could house two NFL franchises, although Goodell did not address that with host Bob Costas.
Goodell said there are several issues that must be solved in Los Angeles, particularly which of two current stadium proposals is best. He didn't suggest any timetable for returning to Southern California.
LUCKY TOWN: Andrew Luck is willing to learn from Peyton Manning. He just wants everyone to know he's ready to play next season, too.
The Stanford quarterback said Thursday he could co-exist as Manning's teammate even though his preference would be to play immediately.
"I think every competitor wants to play, every down, every play," Luck said when asked about starting as an NFL rookie. "So, of course, who wouldn't want to start?"
Luck spent less than 24 hours in Indianapolis, going through a battery of physical tests and learning the intricacies of nutrition at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.
His next trip to the city, for the annual scouting combine, might determine whether Luck becomes a permanent fixture.
Colts owner Jim Irsay has already said he intends to take Manning's successor with the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft, and it looks like a two-man race between Luck and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III.
But there are big questions surrounding the Colts.
Indianapolis has embarked on a major rebuilding project with Ryan Grigson, a first-time general manager, and Chuck Pagano, a first-time coach.
There are even more concerns about Manning, who missed the 2011 season after having his third neck surgery Sept. 8. The four-time NFL MVP has been cleared to return to play by his doctor, but it remains unclear whether he will stay with the Colts.
Irsay said he will wait until next month to decide whether to pay his franchise quarterback a $28 million roster bonus by March 8, redo the contract or risk losing him in free agency.
SUPER TEBOW? Someday, Tim Tebow hopes to be playing in the Super Bowl rather than just visiting.
The Denver Broncos quarterback made the media rounds at the Super Bowl on Thursday, talking about everything from what he needs to work on before next season to his admiration for Eli Manning and Tom Brady to his video game rivalry with his brother.
"You play the game to be in a game like this," Tebow said during a taping of "NBC Sports Talk Live from the Super Bowl," which was to air later Thursday. "It's definitely a dream to be in a game like this."
Tebowmania swept the country after Tebow led the Broncos on five fourth-quarter comebacks and four overtime victories - each more improbable than the last. He spawned a new verb, "Tebowing" - the practice of kneeling on one knee, elbow perched on the other, fist to forehead - and everyone from skiing star Lindsey Vonn to high school kids were soon doing it. There was even a website devoted to the practice.
But a week after connecting with Demaryius Thomas on an 80-yard touchdown on the first play of overtime to beat heavily favored Pittsburgh in the wild-card round, Tebow and the Broncos were embarrassed by the New England Patriots.
"That Tom Brady is really good," Tebow said when asked what he learned from the game. "And just to continue to work. ... If we get better and continue to work, anything can happen."
Tebow knows where he needs to improve.
"Definitely my footwork and drops," he said. "Getting from receiver to receiver, my progressions. I continue to try and work on things and I was very blessed to have a good quarterback coach in Mike McCoy. But, ultimately, I'm just going out there and playing football."
WON'T BE BULLIED: The head of the NFL Players Association insists the league won't "bully" its way to a test for human growth hormone.
At his annual Super Bowl news conference, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said talks continue in a bid to resolve the impasse over adding HGH to the NFL's testing program - six months after the labor deal ending the lockout included a provision to allow checking for that performance-enhancing drug once players approved the process.
Originally, the league hoped it could start testing for HGH as soon as Week 1 of this season. Now there's no certainty it'll happen by the beginning of next season.
"No one will bully us into a test," Smith said Thursday. "No one will force the players to accept something that's unfair. How could we?"
The union has raised questions about the detection methods and appeals process.
"We are going to continue to fight and ensure that due process is something that is not thrown away at the expense of just having the test," said Smith, who is up for re-election in March.
BREES TALKS DEFENSE: Record-setting Saints quarterback Drew Brees thinks the Giants-PatriotsSuper Bowl might be more of a defensive struggle than expected.
"It's interesting how those games shake out, though," Brees said Thursday at an appearance for NFL PLAY 60 at Super Bowl headquarters. "The minute you start talking about two high-powered offenses, the defenses take exception to that and they come out and play exceptionally well."
Case in point: During the 2007 season, the Patriots beat the Giants 38-35 in the regular-season finale, and a few weeks later, the Giants won the Super Bowl 17-14 and ended New England's bid for a perfect season.
"Anything can happen," Brees said, declining to predict a winner. "You're talking about two great teams, two great coaches, two elite quarterbacks. So it should be a great game."
