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PHOENIX - After the eighth question he fielded about the reinvigorated "Spygate" controversy Friday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell couldn't mask his exasperation over its return to the public consciousness.

"This has been around for six months now," Goodell said, reiterating his consistent claims that the Patriots' taping of opposing teams' coaching staffs in an effort to steal signals did not have any effect upon the outcome of any game, and especially not their past Super Bowl victories.

That may not be enough to satisfy U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, who wants Goodell to appear before the panel to explain why the tapes and notes compiled by the Patriots and turned over the league were ordered destroyed by the commissioner.

"That requires an explanation," Specter told the New York Times. "The NFL has a very preferred status in our country with their antitrust exemption. The American people are entitled to be sure about the integrity of the game. It's analogous to the CIA destruction of tapes. Or any time you have records destroyed."

Goodell, answering questions from reporters at the Phoenix Convention Center as part of his annual "State of the NFL" address, said that he saw no need to keep the notes and videotapes because he believed the Patriots acted in good faith when they turned over the material he requested. "The reason I destroyed the tapes is they were totally consistent with what the team told me," Goodell said. "It was the appropriate thing to do and I think it sent a message."

The commissioner did not appear to be as outraged over the controversy as many of his questioners because, as he said, gamesmanship is sanctioned as long as it is

conducted in a manner that the NFL believes to be fair and consistent.

In other words, everyone does it. Everyone can't go to the extremes that the Patriots did, and now everyone knows that in no uncertain terms.

"The actual effectiveness of taping and taking of signals from opponents ... it's something done widely in many sports," Goodell said. "I think it probably had limited, if any, effect on the outcome of games.

"That doesn't change my perspective on violating rules and the need to be punished," he added.

The Patriots were caught videotaping the Jets' defensive coaches from the sideline in the regular-season opener, a 38-14 New England win, in direct violation of a memorandum sent from Goodell's office to all 32 teams a year earlier that stipulated how such surveillance could be conducted. Direct videotaping of an opposing team's coaches from the sideline is not allowed.

Jets' coach Eric Mangini (Belichick's former defensive coordinator with the Patriots) brought the complaint to the NFL offices, and the result of the week-long furor over the revelation was a $500,000 fine to Belichick, another $250,000 fine to the Patriots' organization, and the forfeiture of their first-round draft selection, although they still own the No. 7 selection formerly held by the San Francisco 49ers.

Goodell said he received six tapes from the Patriots, some from 2007 preseason games and the rest from games late in the 2006 regular season. He also received notes interpreting the tapes.

He said he would have preferred to just lock them away, but one of the tapes from the Jets' game found its way onto the Fox network's pre-game show just a short time after the controversy broke. "We wanted to take and destroy that information," he said. "They may have collected it within the rules, but we couldn't determine that. So we felt that it should be destroyed.

"I think it was the best way to make sure the Patriots followed my instructions, to make sure that bit of information would not appear anywhere again," he said. "If it did, I'd know they didn't hand me all the information. Not having those tapes out there, now I know if something arises, they didn't tell me the truth."

Specter claimed that the NFL has ignored his requests for information on the Spygate topics for more than two months, but Goodell blamed high-tech phone tag for the failure to get back to him. The league finally replied to Specter in a letter dated Thursday, including a passage in which Goodell says he has no evidence to support claims that the outcome of the New England-Philadelphia Super Bowl was affected by any sort of spying, or that such spying even occurred.

"I've said that since Day One," Goodell said.

The commissioner also shied away from the suggestion that Specter was pursuing this action against the NFL because one of the largest contributors to his campaign was Comcast, the cable television giant headquartered in Philadelphia, which is embroiled in its own controversy with the NFL over its placement of the NFL Network in an optional, extra-cost package.

Goodell said there have been no new negotiations with Comcast, but that the league would continue its efforts to have the NFL Network restored to basic cable packages.

Among other items of interest from the commissioner's session:

It was confirmed that the New Orleans Saints will play the San Diego Chargers at Wembley Stadium in London on Oct. 26 in the latest international game, coming on the heels of a successful appearance by the Giants and Dolphins last season.

The league approved the Buffalo Bills' request to play a regular-season game in Toronto in each of the next five seasons, plus a preseason game in Canada every other year. Goodell said the plan helped further regionalize the Bills' appeal into Canada while at the same time preserving Buffalo fans' abilities to see the games. Also, Goodell said the NFL would continue to offer support to the Canadian Football League, and probably would not allow a Bills' game to be played in Toronto until after the Grey Cup playoffs are over.

Changes in the playoff seedings are being considered, which could result in wild-card teams earning home games if they have better records than the divisional champion they are playing.

Goodell said the league will continue to support and help fund research into a reliable test for human growth hormone.

The commissioner also expressed confidence that the league and the NFL Players Association could make progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement. The current extension of the old CBA has a clause in which owners can opt out in November, thus resulting in no salary cap for the 2010 season.

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com