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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell testified for more than two hours to start Ray Rices appeal hearing on Wednesday, a person familiar with the case told The Associated Press.Rice and his wife, Janay, will testify on Thursday at the offices of former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones in New York, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Jones has told both sides not to discuss details of the private hearing. The source said Goodell spent much of his testimony under cross examination by Rices attorneys.Rice spent nearly 10 hours at the hearing, which took place nearly two months after the former Pro Bowl running back was suspended indefinitely by the NFL and released by the Baltimore Ravens.League security chief Jeffery Miller and Ravens President Dick Cass are among the key witnesses expected to testify in the two-day hearing.Rice was suspended indefinitely Sept. 8 for violating the NFLs personal conduct policy after a video of him hitting his then-fiancee was released publicly.Rice is seeking immediate reinstatement, though its unlikely a team would sign him this season. Rice has also filed a separate wrongful termination grievance against the Ravens.Its uncertain how long Jones will take to make a decision, but shes not expected to make it on Thursday, the source said.Goodell originally suspended the running back for two games. The incident occurred inside an elevator at an Atlantic City casino in February. The couple married a month later.The league considered the video made public after the initial suspension to be new evidence, giving Goodell the authority to amend Rices punishment. But Rices attorneys are arguing he should not be disciplined twice, citing the collective bargaining agreement.Rices side also is arguing that he described details of the incident to Goodell when they met in June. Goodell has called Rices description ambiguous while the players representatives have maintained he gave exact details.Jones was jointly picked by the commissioner and the players union to hear the appeal. Though it isnt a criminal case, Jones ruled witness will testify under oath. Transcripts of the testimony will not be released publicly, the source said.Rice, a three-time Pro Bowl pick, played in two preseason games for the Ravens this year. His last carry was a 6-yard run against San Francisco on Aug. 7.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Rob Maaddi can be reached on Twitter at ww.twitter.com/ap_robmaaddi Darrell Green Youth Jersey . Louis still looking for a way out of Tampa Bay, the 38-year-old NHL veteran isnt showing his cards. Earnest Byner Womens Jersey .com) - Former New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya is joining the Major League Baseball Players Association staff as a senior advisor to executive director Tony Clark. http://www.redskinsrookiestore.com/Redskins-Earnest-Byner-Jersey/ .6 seconds left to give the Toronto Raptors a 92-89 victory over the Boston Celtics in an exhibition game Wednesday night. Charley Taylor Redskins Jersey . "Well over 50 (per cent)," coach Claude Noel said Tuesday after practice, where the Jets were looking at ways to cut down the scoring chances theyve been giving away. Landon Collins Youth Jersey . The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. MALMO, Sweden -- Brent Sutter had never lost a game as a coach at the world junior championship. It seems there is a first time for everything. Canada battled back four times from one-goal deficits only to lose 5-4 in a shootout to the Czechs on Saturday in their second group stage game. "Its irrelevant," said the 51-year-old coach, whose record at three world junior tournaments, including gold medals in 2005 and 2006, is now 13-0-1. "That has nothing to do with why Im coaching here. "Its about giving these kids an opportunity to succeed." It was a game that saw 16-year-old phenom Connor McDavid benched in the third period after taking two minor penalties that led to Czech goals, then waste a chance to redeem himself by losing the puck on Canadas final shootout attempt. And it prompted Sutter to hint strongly that Zachary Fucale will get his first start in goal against Slovakia on Monday after Jake Paterson allowed four goals on 29 shots, and two more in the shootout. "Im not saying he had his best game," said Sutter. "But there are others that didnt play to their level for 60 minutes either. Hes a good goalie. Im sure hed like to have a couple of those goals back." However, the main message from Sutter was that it was a learning experience for a young Canadian squad. "Whenever you put the Canadian jersey on youre expected to win, but the reality is youre not going to," he said. "Its how you deal with it. Itll make us a better team." The Czechs, now 1-12-2 against Canada in world junior play, were heavy underdogs after losing their tournament opener 5-1 to the Americans, but they signalled they were ready by using some hustle to score the first goal through David Kampf only 7:10 in to the game. The Czechs, however, had trouble holding on to their lead. Sam Reinhart tied it later in the first. Michal Plutnar put the Czechs ahead, but Jonathan Drouin equalized. Vojtech Tomecek scored and then Aaron Ekblad scored short handed. Jakub Vrana scored, but Charles Hudon tied it at 13:01 of the third to force a five-minute overtime and the shootout. Drouin scored on the first shot, but David Pastrnak scored and Dominik Simon won it by beating Paterson with the Peter Forsberg move -- a cut to the left and a reach back to tuck the puck in. "He did a pretty solid move there and unfortunately, I couldnt stretch out quite enough," said Paterson. "I wasnt too sure what these guys moves were, but I dont think you can blame the loss on that. In a shootout, you do the best you can. But the focus now turns to our next game." McDavids game started well. He initiated a tic-tac-toe play on a power play for Canadas first goal with linemates Bo Horvat and Reinhart, but things went downhill when he was called for hooking in the second frame and saw Pllutnar score his second of the tournament one second after the penalty expired.dddddddddddd. The Erie Otters star nullified a power play when he was sent off again for hooking 4:05 into the third and Tomecek scored two seconds later. Then he sat for a while. "I thought at times, with Connor, his youth showed," said Sutter. "Hes an exceptional player, but this is the world junior level and at times thats going to happen with young players. He wasnt the only one." Still, when the shootout came, he didnt hesitate to pick McDavid, who had been scoring on them in practice. "Hes a big part of our team and hes going to continue to be a big part of the team, so theres no reason not to use a player of his calibre in a shootout," he said. "Unfortunately he wasnt able to make the move he wanted, but hell learn from it and hell be better for it." Sutter was more concerned about loose play, particularly on two Czech goals scored off faceoffs in Canadas end, and a second period in which the gap between the defence and the forwards at times grew well past Sutters limits. That came after a strong first that saw Canada have a 13-5 shot advantage and force Marek Langhammer to make a handful of strong saves. Afterward, the players were told to put it behind them to concentrate on Slovakia, who looked dangerous despite a 6-3 loss to the U.S. earlier Thursday. "Theres a bunch of things we need to fix," said Ekblad. "We need to be more passionate about doing the little things to win. But its a learning experience and were going to come out of it." "Obviously its disappointing, but its one game," added Reinhart. "Our focus is quickly onto the next one. Weve all been part of international tournaments in the past and its all good competition. You go through a lot of adversity." The back and forth battle had the mostly Canadian crowd of 3,011 at the Isstadion on the edge of their seats. It also thrilled the Czechs, who had been beaten 8-1, 7-2 and 5-0 the last times they faced Canada at the world juniors. "We are so happy," said the shootout hero Simon. "Its my first win against Canada, so Im really happy." The result left Canada second in its group with four points, two behind the Americans and one ahead of the Czechs, with their two toughest games still to play against the Slovaks and Americans. "Czech played a heck of a game," said Sutter. "Whoever plays Canada, its the biggest game of the tournament. It was a reality check for us. Every period is important because you know the oppositions always going to have their game at a high level." And he wasnt going to get bummed out by it, even if he had never lost a game before. "We lost in a shootout, its not like we got blown out," he said. ' ' '