Choice of League Chief Due Soon

The NFL could have a new commissioner as soon this afternoon.

Roger S. Goodell, 47, the league’s chief operating officer, is the front-runner among five finalists as voting starts today, on the second day of owners meetings here.

However, several owners cautioned Monday that, with 22 votes needed among the 32 owners, no candidate should be dismissed.

The new commissioner will be the league’s fourth since the end of World War II and will succeed Paul Tagliabue, who since taking over from Pete Rozelle in 1989 has established the NFL among the world’s premier sports properties.

Goodell isn’t the only NFL insider in the field. Longtime league lawyer Gregg H. Levy, 53, is a partner at Covington & Burling, the same Washington law firm where Tagliabue worked before becoming commissioner. The others are Frederick R. Nance, 52, a Cleveland lawyer who on behalf of that city handled negotiations with the league over the return of the Browns; Robert L. Reynolds, 54, a Massachusetts businessman; and Mayo A. Shattuck III, 51, a Baltimore businessman who in 2001 was a candidate to run the U.S. Olympic Committee.

“The only issue Paul has left on the table is Los Angeles,” meaning the potential return of the league to Southern California, which has been without an NFL team since the Rams and Raiders left after the 1994 season, said Steve Tisch, chairman and executive vice president of the New York Giants.

“I intend to ask each of the five candidates how each would go about building even more momentum behind the situation in Southern California,” Tisch said.

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Offensive lineman Barrett Brooks apologized to the Pittsburgh Steelers after he was charged with fleeing from police on his motorcycle over the weekend, but he said the chase resulted from miscommunication and not any wrongdoing.

Brooks’ comments didn’t seem to appease Coach Bill Cowher, who was critical of Brooks after addressing the situation Monday during a team meeting.

“We’re very disappointed with the judgment he displayed Saturday night, we talked to the football team about it and we’ll leave it at that,” Cowher said. “We certainly don’t condone the actions, and certainly there’s responsibility that goes with being a professional athlete and handling yourself properly.”

Brooks, a 34-year-old backup lineman for the Super Bowl champions, was charged with fleeing and eluding, reckless driving, driving at an unsafe speed and other traffic violations. He was taken to Allegheny County Jail, Pittsburgh police Sgt. Dennis Washington said.

Police said Brooks, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, drove recklessly around a police car and did not stop, causing officers to chase him for about five minutes on Pittsburgh’s South Side. Brooks also drove through a red traffic light and a stop sign, Washington said.

Brooks wasn’t intoxicated, police said.

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Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor was fined four game paychecks by the NFL for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

In June, Taylor reached an agreement with prosecutors to drop felony charges against him and pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors in a Florida assault case, avoiding jail time that might have derailed his career.

The deal called for Taylor to be put on 18 months’ probation, talk about the importance of education at 10 Miami-Dade County schools and contribute $1,000 for scholarships to each of those schools. He must also pay $429 in court costs.

Taylor had faced a maximum of 46 years in prison if convicted on three aggravated assault charges and one misdemeanor charge stemming from a confrontation last year after his all-terrain vehicles were taken.

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Terrell Owens said his nagging hamstring injury probably will keep him out of the Dallas Cowboys’ preseason opener Saturday night at Seattle.... Quarterback Daunte Culpepper has progressed so well in his recovery from knee surgery that he could play in the Miami Dolphins’ exhibition opener Saturday against Jacksonville.