Super Bowl notebook: Bears’ Tillman a finalist for Payton award; Goodell holds court

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Updated: March 5, 2012 8:05AM

INDIANAPOLIS — Charles Tillman has a special appreciation for the respect that comes with being associated with Walter Payton.

So the Bears cornerback is particularly honored to be a finalist for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

“Obviously, playing in Chicago, being a Chicago Bear, I know about Walter Payton’s legacy,” the Bears cornerback said. “And to be mentioned in the same sentence as him, with what he has accomplished and what he means to the NFL and Chicago, it’s extremely humbling.”

Tillman was chosen for his work with his Cornerstone Foundation, which helps chronically and critically ill children. His own daughter’s heart transplant, after being diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy at 3-months old, has driven his cause.

The other finalists are Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, who works with foster children, and Ravens center Matt Birk, who helps at-risk children succeed in the classroom.

The winner will be announced at tonight’s prime time NFL awards show.

Goodell holds court: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell held his annual state of the league press conference on Friday. In the 45-minute session, he touched on a wide range of topics.

He said that New York’s 2014 Super Bowl will go a long way toward determining if the league will have Super Bowls in other cold-weather cities without domes — including Chicago, despite the small (by NFL standards) capacity of Soldier Field.

“It’s not just the size of the stadium, it’s the number of hotel rooms, the other infrastructure, all of which we know Chicago would meet,” he said. “If they’re interested, we certainly would meet with them and discuss their ability to do that.”

He continues to see Los Angeles as an attractive market. But Goodell said he wants to avoid relocation (the Rams are a candidate, with their lease expiring in 2014) and that expansion is not in the league’s plans. If the 32-team league did expand, however, it would do so by two teams, not just one.

He hopes that HGH testing will be implemented this offseason, an issue still being worked out with the players’ union.

“We believe the science is clear,” he said. “That this test is valid.”

He defended the league’s commitment to player safety while being peppered with several questions about concussions. “There are a lot of unknowns about brain injuries and the brain. The NFL is leading the way.”

Next year, there will be 13 Thursday night games on NFL Network, starting in Week 2. That’s up from eight this year. He said every team will get a prime time game.