Boldin

GLENDALE – Anquan Boldin’s agent has made a contract proposal to the Cardinals, but it’s questionable how interested the team is in entering negotiations.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus broke the news of the offer on his Twitter account Thursday and confirmed it to The Republic later in the day.

Rosenhaus said contrary to speculation, Boldin is not seeking a deal worth $10 million a year, which is what teammate Larry Fitzgerald is receiving. The recent offer is for less, according to Rosenhaus.

“It’s inaccurate and I just wanted to clear the record,” Rosenhaus said of the $10 million figure. Rosenhaus declined to discuss his proposal, saying, “I’m not going to negotiate Anquan’s contract through the media.”

Cardinals general manager Rod Graves was not available for comment.

An NFL source familiar with the proposal said the deal averaged just under $10 million per season.

Rosenhaus declined to say when he made the proposal to the Cardinals. He has discussed the proposal with Graves, he said, but the Cardinals have not responded with a counteroffer.

“I think we can be reasonable as long as Anquan is among the top-paid receivers,” Rosenhaus said. “We just want a contract commensurate with his performance. You find me another guy with three Pro Bowls, the same number of yards, receptions, touchdowns and toughness.”

Rosenhaus acknowledged that circumstances dictate that Boldin will make less than Fitzgerald.

The Cardinals were forced to renegotiate Fitzgerald’s contract a year ago because incentive clauses would have pushed his salaries to $14.6 million in 2009 and more than $17 million in 2009.

With two years remaining on his contract, Boldin doesn’t have that kind of leverage.

“We do have years left on our contract,” Rosenhaus said. “We’re not facing the same set of circumstances as the guy who is looking at free agency.”

But Rosenhaus said he and Boldin are not “just going to sit pat and look forward to another uncomfortable year like last year. We’re going to continue to talk to the team about a new deal and continue to hope the team will be flexible for a trade.”

Boldin believes the team has reneged on a promise to address his contract situation and would prefer to be traded.

Last week, Rosenhaus wrote on Twitter that he thought Boldin would be traded before training camp. Rosenhaus can’t negotiate a contract with other clubs unless given permission, but going public with the recent proposal to the Cardinals lets other teams know Boldin’s asking price is less than $10 million a year.

It could be the range of $8 million to $9 million a year on average. T.J. Houshmandzadeh signed a five-year, $40 million deal with Seattle this spring, with $15 million guaranteed.

Dallas traded for Roy Williams last year then signed him to a five-year, $45 million deal with $20 million guaranteed.

Boldin re-signed with the team in 2005, two years into his rookie contract, and received $10 million in bonuses. He is due to make $2.75 million this year and $3 million in 2010.

Bryant

It’s difficult for Wendell Bryant to pinpoint the moment that he finally decided to end years of drug and alcohol abuse.

Maybe it was the death of his grandfather, who helped raise him, in January 2008. Or, it might have been May 2008 when his baby daughter, Devin, who couldn’t tell her dad was in a stupor, pulled Bryant close and kissed him.

Or maybe it was last June 3, when Bryant, the Cardinals’ first-round pick in 2002, was leaving his Ahwatukee home to check into the Chandler Valley Hope treatment center.

“I had one last piece of joint,” Bryant said, “and I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to smoke this on the way.’ ”

But his lighter wouldn’t work. Bryant pulled the car over, tried the lighter again. Still no flame. He looked at the joint. Then the lighter. Then he looked up.

“I said, ‘All right, I get it,’ ” Bryant said. “I threw it out of the car window and drove my ass over to Chandler and from there I started on the path.”

The path has led him to nearly a year of sobriety and maybe back to the doorstep of the NFL. Bryant wants back in the league, although he hasn’t played since being suspended for the 2005 season after committing his third strike in the league’s substance abuse policy.

“You really don’t know the opportunities you have until they are gone,” Bryant said. “It took me a long time to realize that. You don’t realize how much you love something until it’s taken away.”

Bryant knows the odds are against him. He’s a recovering addict who hasn’t played a down of football in five years. Even when he did play, he was far from a Pro Bowler. He turns 29 this September and knows he spent his prime getting drunk and high.

But Bryant’s physique is testament to his seriousness. He’s dropped nearly 30 pounds, down to 295, while working with Scottsdale trainer Chad Ikei over the past year. Bryant appears in far better shape than he was in his three years with the Cardinals, when other players teased him about his doughy body.

“He actually has a physique,” Ikei said. “He’s not going to be on the cover of Men’s Fitness, but he’s much better than he was.”

Ikei had worked with Bryant before, knew his history and had seen Bryant at the house-warming party of a mutual friend about a year earlier.

“He’s done,” Ikei thought to himself.

So Ikei was dubious about Bryant’s commitment when Bryant approached him last summer. Not any more.

Bryant has been diligent about training, even though he lives 40 minutes away from Ikei’s facility. Bryant hasn’t missed sessions, even when there have been two-a-days, and Ikei believes Bryant is ready to give the NFL a shot. If the NFL will give him one.

“The league is very nonforgiving for some and sometimes forgiving for others,” Ikei said. “In Wendell’s case, I don’t think it will be very forgiving. If he was a Pro Bower the first two, three years before he got kicked out, it would be a different story.

“If he does what I think he’s capable of doing, it’s going to be a great inspiring story for many young athletes.”

The Arizona Cardinals have released three of their biggest free-agent acquisitions in recent years – including running back Edgerrin James – to clear about $5.55 million in salary cap space.

James’ departure Tuesday was expected, but the releases of cornerback Rod Hood and outside linebacker Travis LaBoy were a bit surprising because they and James helped Arizona make its run to the Super Bowl last season.

The Cardinals were about $1.2 million under the salary cap before the moves. They will need the additional space if they are to re-sign strong safety Adrian Wilson, inside linebacker Karlos Dansby and receiver Anquan Boldin.

“It’s never easy to release veteran players who have contributed to the team’s success,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said in a statement. “But like every decision we make, it simply comes down to what is in the best interest of our football team and what gives us the best chance for success.”

James became expendable when the team drafted running back Beanie Wells in the first round and LaRod Stephens-Howling in the seventh. Arizona also took two outside linebackers and a cornerback.

Releasing James, who signed in 2006, saves the team about $5 million under the salary cap. Hood, who signed in 2007, was due to make $3 million, and the club will take a $1.5 million hit against the cap to account for a portion of his signing bonus.

Releasing LaBoy, who signed last year, was more expensive. The club will take a $6.1 million hit against the cap, about $1.45 million more than if he had been on the team. But the release of James, Hood and LaBoy wasn’t all about money. It was about performance, too.

James, who signed a four-year, $30 million deal in 2006, never fit into Whisenhunt’s system. LaBoy, 28, was brought in to bolster the pass rush, but he was hampered by a variety of injuries. The selections of Cody Brown in the second round and Will Davis in the sixth made him expendable, coaches said.

Hood, who signed in 2007, started in both of his seasons in Arizona. After a solid 2007 season, he struggled last year, and the club signed Bryant McFadden in free agency to replace Hood as a starter.

> NFL notes, Page 4C

Kurt Warner

Less than an hour into his visit Monday with the 49ers, Kurt Warner knew he wanted to remain with the Cardinals.

No one with the 49ers did or said anything wrong. The 49ers provided Warner and his wife, Brenda, a private plane and limousine, but Warner had a feeling he belonged in Arizona.

“I told my wife probably 45 minutes into it that I just felt God say, ‘You’re supposed to be in Arizona,’ ” Warner said. “She tried to tell me to stay open but He just continued to confirm it.”

On the flight home that night, Warner called his agent, Mark Bartelstein, with a simple message: “Hey, let’s get this thing done.”

Tuesday morning, Bartelstein made a proposal, the Cardinals countered and the two parties finally agreed Wednesday morning on a two-year, $23 million contract, including a $15 million signing bonus and salaries of $4 million each year.

Including the first year’s salary, $19 million of the deal is guaranteed.

“That was a critical element,” Bartelstein said of the guaranteed money.

With the deal done, the Cardinals are $22 million under the salary cap.

Bartelstein credited Cardinals team president Michael Bidwill, general manager Rod Graves and coach Ken Whisenhunt for making the deal happen.

“They listened to our concerns and addressed them,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s not easy to change a stance.”

Warner offered to take $1 million less each year if the team re-signed receiver Anquan Boldin, who is unhappy with his contract. That offer is not part of the written contract, and the Cardinals said they have other priorities before addressing Boldin’s situation.

Negotiations with Warner took longer than either side expected, but the contract should carry Warner, who turns 38 this summer, through to the end of his career.

“Never say never, but I’m old,” Warner said, joking, when asked if this would be his last contract.

Warner

He takes back duty once delegated to Todd Haley

Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt

INDIANAPOLIS – The Arizona Cardinals don’t know yet if the player roster for this coming season will look anything like it did in 2008.

One thing is certain: The coaching staff will look much different.

Head coach Ken Whisenhunt spent most of the past two weeks restructuring his staff, which started to undergo changes days after the Cardinals lost to the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII earlier this month.

“It’s been a pretty hectic two weeks,” said Whisenhunt, who announced the majority of his staffing changes Wednesday.

Bill Davis was promoted from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator, replacing Clancy Pendergast, who was fired after the Super Bowl.

Matt Raich, formerly defensive quality control assistant, will coach the linebackers.

Most of the changes are on the offensive side of the ball. Instead of having one coordinator, assistant head coach/offensive line Russ Grimm will coordinate the running game, and Mike Miller, formerly the receivers coach, has been promoted to passing game coordinator.

Whisenhunt will return to calling plays, which he did in most of his first season in Arizona before handing the duties over to offensive coordinator Todd Haley, who left to become the Chiefs head coach.

Under the new structure, Grimm will continue to coach the offensive line. Rutgers offensive coordinator John McNulty has been hired to coach receivers, and former NFL quarterback Chris Miller will coach quarterbacks, replacing Jeff Rutledge, who was fired.

Peppers hopes to leave

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Julius Peppers still wants out of Carolina, but he’ll only agree to be traded to four teams, further complicating the Panthers’ efforts to get compensation for the four-time Pro Bowl defensive end.

On the eve of the deadline to place the franchise tag on Peppers, a person close to the player said Wednesday that the impending free agent wants to play for Dallas or three other unnamed teams, two of them in the NFC.

Elsewhere

CHARGERS: San Diego placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Darren Sproles, virtually assuring that the speedy little running back-returner will be back next season

RAIDERS: Pro Bowl punter Shane Lechler has agreed to a four-year contract to stay with Oakland.

RAVENS: Baltimore used the franchise tag on Pro Bowl outside linebacker and former Arizona State Sun Devil Terrell Suggs for the second consecutive year Wednesday, a transaction that costs the team $10.2 million against the 2009 salary cap.

TITANS: Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth has decided to test the free agent market, according to various media reports.

The Associated Press

Whisenhunt

<h4>New 'faces' with Suns </h4>
Matt Rich, and his son, Micah Rich, 8, pose with cutouts of the Suns' team Thursday at the NBA All-Star Jam Session in Phoenix.

PHOENIX – While Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner hits the talk-show circuit this week, his agent, Mark Bartelstein, has entered discussions with the Cardinals about a new contract for his client.

Bartelstein said Thursday he had spoken to Cardinals General Manager Rod Graves by phone a couple of times this week and that the two will “probably get together next week.”

Bartelstein stopped short of saying Warner has ruled out retiring but said, “I think he would like to play. He loves to compete.”

Warner will turn 38 this summer. He’s due to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the month and has said for weeks that one factor in his decision will be gauging how interested the Cardinals are in re-signing him.

“In a perfect world, he would love to play and be part of a team that could compete for the Super Bowl again,” Bartelstein said. “He’s excited about what Rod Graves and coach Ken Whisenhunt have done.”

Warner appeared on Thursday’s “Ellen DeGeneres Show” and will do the “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on Friday night along with Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald. On “Ellen,” Warner opened with some dance steps to show how mobile he’s become in recent years.

Phelps probe questioned

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Even if a South Carolina sheriff is successful in building a marijuana case against swimming superstar Michael Phelps, it might be hard to make the charges stick, defense attorneys say.

The case took a turn Thursday when lawyers for two people said their clients were among eight arrested last week and questioned at length about the November party near the University of South Carolina where Phelps was photographed smoking from a marijuana pipe. At the time, the men were renters at the house.

The effort to prosecute Phelps on what would be at most a minor drug charge seems extreme compared with similar cases, lawyers said, and has led some to question whether the sheriff is being overzealous because he’s dealing with a celebrity.

“The efforts that are being made here are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before,” said Jack Swerling, a defense attorney in South Carolina.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott has made fighting drug crimes a central plank of his career. He rose from patrol officer to captain of the narcotics division in the early 1990s and was well-known in the county for wearing stylish suits like the drug agents on “Miami Vice” and driving a Porsche seized from a drug dealer. He was elected sheriff in 1996.

The Associated Press

Spotlight’s on Phoenix

PHOENIX – Knock knock, nation. It’s Phoenix again – you know, that desert city you keep hearing about.

The nation’s fifth-largest city has been in the national spotlight in recent years, mostly because of high-profile sporting events. The latest is the NBA All-Star game in Phoenix on Sunday, airing in 215 countries in 44 languages.

“Vignettes of blue skies and majestic mountains and swaying palm trees will be played out in all of these broadcasts,” said Ray Artigue, executive director of the MBA Sports Business program at Arizona State. “That’s a postcard for the (area) and the state that all the collective chambers of commerce couldn’t afford to buy. It’s tremendous exposure.”

And that’s just the actual game. Dozens of glitzy events kicked into high gear Thursday and will continue throughout the weekend.

Among them are a party hosted by the Phoenix Suns’ Amaré Stoudemire on Thursday night, a Playboy magazine party Friday and a celebrity charity dinner hosted by the Suns’ Steve Nash on Friday at $13,000 a plate.

Plenty of celebrities are in town, and pop singer Katy Perry, rapper Snoop Dogg, and DJ Jazzy Jeff, among others, are set to perform. Sporting events outside Sunday’s game include a celebrity basketball game Friday and a slam-dunk contest Saturday.

The Associated Press

Player’s brother freed

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The brother of a Providence basketball player who ran onto the court to confront a referee has been released from jail after 16 days behind bars.

Jonathan Xavier admitted Thursday to a Superior Court judge that he broke the terms of his probation on drug charges by rushing onto the court Jan. 16 against Marquette. Xavier was sentenced to time served.

Xavier was upset that no foul was called after his brother, Jeff Xavier, was hit in the face by a defender’s arm.

The Associated Press

QUOTABLE

'We don't know what we're doing next year with respect to Seattle. It's all rumors.'

KEN GRIFFEY JR.,

who played at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, on reports Thursday saying the 39-year-old free agent would return to Seattle, where he spent his first 11 years.

———

SPORTS SOUND-OFF

Tribute to Lute draws yeahs, nays

Re: UA to honor Lute Olson during halftime of March 5 game

• Great coach, yes. But he left the program in shambles. The record and recruiting show it. But I hope he’s happy. 2998

• He deserves it. Even the haters who hate this guy can’t say he didn’t do anything for this program. This guy deserves all the credit in the world for taking a (bad) team and turning it into one of the best programs in the nation. We all should show class, respect, and a debt of gratitude for what he did. JUST A FAN

• Olson built it and he did his best to tear it down. Just get out! Or is it time to come back again? OCOTILLO SUNSET

• Twenty-five years, Hall Of Fame, Pac-10 and a national championship, good guys up in the NBA, solid graduates, good family man, heck of a nice guy. He is one of the best ever. Now for those of you who have never shaken his hand, or sat with him for even a few minutes, put your comments where the Sun Devil doesn’t shine. 3829

• Good to see something planned. Then let’s move on. The future will be different but comparisons to “Lute this” and “Lute that” will cripple the program. 5940

———

ON THIS DATE

1994: Tommy Moe wins the men’s downhill over Kjetil Andre Aamodt at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

1995: Connecticut is voted No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 and joins the school’s women’s team at the top. It is the first time teams from one school were ranked No. 1 in the men’s and women’s college basketball polls.

1999: Steve Jaros rolls the 13th televised 300 game in PBA history en route to winning the Chattanooga Open.

2003: Teresa Phillips becomes the first woman to coach a men’s Division I team, but Tennessee State loses for the 17th straight time, 71-56 at Austin Peay.

The Arizona Cardinals’ offensive staff could undergo a major shuffling in the next few weeks as coaches depart and others take on new assignments.

Quarterbacks coach Jeff Rutledge has been fired, according to sources. The Cardinals already are looking for an offensive coordinator to replace Todd Haley, who became the Chiefs head coach last week.

Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt is expected to fill Haley’s position from within, which will create another opening.

Candidates for the job include assistant head coach/offensive line Russ Grimm, receivers coach Mike Miller, running backs coach Maurice Carthon and tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens.

Whisenhunt is considering shifting offensive assistant Dedric Ward to receivers coach, and moving Miller to another position.

Ward is close with Haley, and Haley is expected to try to hire him. Ward, however, is under contract, so the Cardinals don’t have to let him go.

Ward played receiver in the NFL for eight seasons.

Whisenhunt also is looking for a defensive coordinator to replace Clancy Pendergast, who was fired last week. He is expected to interview linebackers coach Bill Davis and secondary coach Teryl Austin.

Reports that the Cardinals have asked the Steelers for permission to interview linebackers coach Keith Butler for the coordinator job could not be confirmed.

Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt made the firing of defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast official Saturday, less than a week after the team played in the first Super Bowl in its history.

Pendergast was defensive coordinator for five years and one of two coaches retained when Whisenhunt became head coach two years ago.

“He was one of the guys retained from the previous staff and has done a good job,” Whisenhunt said in a statement released by the team. “But as part of the evaluation process that’s done after every season, I took a look at the last two years as a whole and felt this move was necessary to help us continue the progress we’ve made.”

Whisenhunt will consider candidates from his staff and outside the organization to replace Pendergast.

Linebackers coach Bill Davis is a strong candidate. His work over the past two years is highly regarded, and he was the 49ers coordinator in 2005 and 2006.

The Cardinals run a hybrid 3-4 scheme, and Davis has extensive experience, working under defensive coaches such as Dick LeBeau, Bill Cowher, Dom Capers and Mike Nolan.

If Davis is promoted, the Cardinals could move defensive assistant Matt Raich up to coach linebackers. Secondary coach Teryl Austin also could be a candidate for the coordinator’s job.

Whisenhunt is expected to try to interview Steelers linebacker coach Keith Butler. The Steelers denied Whisenhunt permission to interview Butler two years ago, and that could happen again, given that Butler remains under contract.

Whisenhunt also is looking for an offensive coordinator after Todd Haley left to become the Chiefs head coach. It’s likely he will fill that position with someone already on staff.

Ex-Falcon arrested

ATLANTA – Former Atlanta Falcons running back Jamal Anderson has been charged with felony cocaine possession and misdemeanor marijuana possession after being arrested at an Atlanta nightclub, authorities said Sunday.

Anderson, a fan favorite who created the “Dirty Bird” touchdown celebration dance, played eight seasons for the Falcons before leaving the team with a knee injury in 2001.

The Associated Press

Haley

Less than a week after Super Bowl XLIII, Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt faces the task of replacing his offensive and defensive coordinators.

Offensive coordinator Todd Haley is the new head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, who announced the move in a news conference on Friday.

Later in the day, word leaked out that Cardinals defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast also will be leaving.

NFL sources confirmed Pendergast’s departure, although it was unclear if he had been fired or was leaving for another position.

The change at defensive coordinator is not a surprise. There were rumblings late in the season that Pendergast was on shaky ground, although his defense played well in the playoffs.

Pendergast was a holdover from former coach Dennis Green’s staff. Whisenhunt was encouraged by management at the time to keep Pendergast.

When he was hired in 2007, Whisenhunt was interested in hiring Steelers linebacker coach Keith Butler, but Butler was under contract and the Steelers declined to let him interview. It’s unknown whether Butler is under contract for 2009.

Haley had been rumored to be the Chiefs’ leading candidate for several weeks, so Whisenhunt is prepared to move quickly to replace him. Whisenhunt would prefer to promote a current assistant, and he already has spoken to assistant head coach/offensive line coach Russ Grimm.

If Grimm became offensive coordinator, the Cardinals likely would hire a new line coach, Whisenhunt said.

“There’s no question in my mind Russ can do either (job),” Whisenhunt said, “but I think you also have to be careful about putting too much on his plate and diminishing the effectiveness of both jobs.”

Whisenhunt plans to speak with running backs coach Maurice Carthon, receivers coach Mike Miller and tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens about the position.

Whisenhunt has some outside candidates in mind but “I don’t necessarily want to go that direction because of all the progress we’ve made as an offense,” he said.

Haley was a central figure in Whisenhunt’s efforts to change the Cardinals’ fortunes, but the new Chiefs coach knows he’ll have a hard time equaling Whisenhunt’s success in his two seasons as a head coach. The Cardinals lost to the Steelers, 27-23, last Sunday in Super Bowl XLIII. It was the first Super Bowl appearance in Cardinals history.

“The last thing I said to coach Whisenhunt was ‘We set the bar too high,’ ” Haley said in a news conference Friday in Kansas City.

Whisenhunt and Haley have been close friends since sharing an office together in 2000 as Jets assistants. Haley turned down a chance to interview for the Dolphins head coaching job a year ago, receiving a new three-year contract from the Cardinals.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for Todd and one that I know he is ready for,” Whisenhunt said. “He was a big part of the offensive success that our team has had over the last two years.”

“I had a great job in Arizona,” Haley said, “loved everything about it. It had to be the perfect situation (to leave).”

———

NFL PRO BOWL

When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday. TV: NBC

Ken Whisenhunt

Arizona Cardinals coaches and management would like to take some time off and relax after working since July with only three days off.

But fewer than 48 hours after losing Super Bowl XLIII, they were in the offices preparing for 2009.

The schedule makes it a necessary evil. The scouting combine starts in two weeks, so there are college players to evaluate.

The deadline for designating franchise and transition players is Feb. 19. Free agency starts at the end of February, so coaches must evaluate players on other rosters.

“We’re five weeks behind a lot of teams,” Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said Tuesday. “Don’t mistake me on this, this is a very good problem to have. But we’re five weeks behind. You would like to take a chance to decompress and get away. But you don’t have that luxury.”

This is the Cardinals’ most successful season since winning the NFL title in 1947, but it’s folly to believe they can keep this team together. Some players will depart via free agency, some might retire and others will be released.

Whisenhunt might have to make a key hire on his coaching staff, too. Offensive coordinator Todd Haley is expected to interview for the Chiefs head coaching job this week. The Chiefs reportedly have requested permission to interview Haley, and it’s been widely reported that Haley is near the top of their candidate list.

The Cardinals declined to confirm the Chiefs’ interest in Haley.

Roster concerns

The rest of Whisenhunt’s assistants are under contract, so the Cardinals can prevent them from interviewing for anything less than a head coaching position.

The tenuous nature of the business is part of what made the 2008 season so memorable, quarterback Kurt Warner said.

“We’re not going to keep this team together,” Warner said. “You understand that in this business.”

Warner is contemplating retirement and isn’t under contract for 2009. Tuesday, he emphasized that should he continue playing, he wanted to remain with the Cardinals. The Cardinals want Warner back, Whisenhunt said.

“I’m going to move forward and see what is in store for me,” Warner said Tuesday before leaving for the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, “whether it’s playing for a few more years, one more year or whether it’s going off to do something else.”

Most of the Cardinals seemed philosophic Tuesday about the possibility of keeping a major portion of the team together. Defensive end Bertrand Berry said change was the one constant in the NFL, a theme free safety Antrel Rolle echoed.

“If it was up to me, I wish everyone would stay here but that’s not how it works,” he said. “Unfortunately we might end up losing some guys. That’s football, that’s life. You have to live with it and go on from it.”

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger strains toward the goal line in the first quarter of the Super Bowl. Initially called a touchdown, the call was changed after review.

TAMPA, Fla. – The ball hung in the air for what seemed like 61 years, spinning with the potential to break the Cardinals’ hearts and haunt their dreams.

And that’s exactly what it did. The pass landed in the hands of Pittsburgh receiver Santonio Holmes for a 6-yard touchdown with 35 seconds left, giving the Steelers a 27-23 victory in Super Bowl XLIII in front of 70,774 on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

It seems a cruel fate that after waiting 61 years for an NFL championship, the Cardinals came within a fingertip, a couple of toes and a few seconds of pulling off what seemed inconceivable a month ago when they entered the playoffs. The improbability of their playoff run makes losing no easier to take.

“To be so close and to have it snatched away, it hurts,” Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “I kind of feel empty now. It’s like it’s all for nothing.”

It was the Steelers’ sixth Super Bowl championship, an NFL record, and it came against a team that was playing in the game for the first time.

The Cardinals nearly wrote the perfect ending to a storybook postseason run that forced people to take them seriously. They scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, rallying from a 13-point deficit and nearly pulling off the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.

The Cardinals displayed all the nerve and heart of a championship team. Using a no-huddle offense, they went on two touchdown drives, with the last score giving them a 23-20 lead with 2:37 remaining.

“There was too much time on the clock,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said, when asked what he was thinking when Fitzgerald scored on the 64-yard pass from Kurt Warner. “I felt maybe could at least hold them to a field goal and maybe go to overtime.”

The Cardinals’ defense, which had controlled the fourth quarter, couldn’t stop the Steelers and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. They had shut down the Steelers in the fourth quarter, pressuring Roethlisberger and forcing a safety that contributed to the Cardinals’ 16-point run.

The Cardinals couldn’t control Roethlisberger and Holmes at the most crucial time. Holmes busted a curl pattern for a 38-yard gain, and his final touchdown reception was one for the ages.

Roethlisberger’s pass sailed over the outstretched fingers of cornerback Ralph Brown, and two other Cardinals in the area couldn’t get to Holmes in time to break up the pass.

“They (the Steelers) made the plays at the end of the game,” Whisenhunt said. “That’s what good teams do.”

Holmes was selected the game’s MVP.

“Great players step up in big-time games to make plays,” Holmes said. “I kind of lost a little composure, you know, but I knew our defense would give us a chance to make it back.”

Added Roethlisberger: “I said it’s now or never, I told the guys all the film study you put in doesn’t matter unless you do it now. I’m really proud of the way they responded.”

The last minutes of the game will be replayed for years. The Cardinals closed the gap thanks to their spread offense. Warner went to work, completing all eight of his passes on a fourth-quarter drive.

The last one on the drive was a 1-yard fade route to Fitzgerald for a touchdown that brought the Cardinals to within 20-14. Arizona added a safety to make it 20-16.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes hauls in the winning score past Cardinals safety Aaron Francisco late in the fourth quarter.

Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt poses with the Vince Lombardi trophy Friday.

TAMPA, Fla. – Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt learned the importance of taking notes early in his NFL career, and he continued it when became a head coach.

As an assistant with the Steelers under Bill Cowher, Whisenhunt took notes on what Cowher said to his team and how he said it.

“I told coach Cowher that I have notebooks with little tabs in there from when he spoke before the championship game, when he spoke before the Super Bowl, when he spoke at the mini-camp meeting, all of those things,” Whisenhunt said.

Whisenhunt also took notes while playing and working for coaches such as Dan Henning and Joe Gibbs.

Down time

The Cardinals went through a light practice Friday and will have a walk-through Saturday morning. After that, the players have some free time before meeting Saturday night.

That’s the team’s normal schedule, which Whisenhunt has tried to maintain this week.

“There’s a lot of family here and a lot of excitement,” Whisenhunt said.

“Losing that focus in that time is always a concern. We’ve talked about that. Our leaders understand that, and we recognize where we are and what we’ve done to get here.”

Steelers ready to go

TAMPA, Fla. – If it seemed the Pittsburgh Steelers were repeating themselves Friday during their final full practice for the Super Bowl, they were.

Coach Mike Tomlin’s staff put in the game plan for Arizona last week. Tomlin didn’t want to stray from the normal practice week routine, so this week’s practices were nearly the same on the corresponding days as those during the off week in Pittsburgh.

“This week was a redo,” Tomlin told a pool reporter assigned by the Pro Football Writers of America. “We didn’t have the sense of urgency we might normally have in a practice week, but that’s because the guys have seen it all once.”

Wide receiver Hines Ward (sprained right knee ligament) went through the full 1-hour, 50-minute practice in unseasonably cool 55-degree weather. He is listed as probable.

Ward and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger both looked sharp during a practice in which the Steelers piped in crowd noise to replicate game conditions.

TAMPA, Fla. – Arizona offensive coordinator Todd Haley is known for his fiery temperament, and as a former scout with the New York Jets, he remembers clashing with Bill Parcells, the head coach.

One year, Haley loved a receiver from San Angelo (Texas) State named Chris Brazzell and was trying to convince Parcells to draft him.

“Bill wanted nothing to do with him,” Haley said. “It got to the point where he was doing a lot more shouting than I was, but we ended up taking Brazzell in the (sixth) round.”

Brazzell lasted a short time and then went on to the Canadian Football League, Haley said.

“I thought I was getting fired after, but I think coach appreciated that I stood up for what I believed in,” he said.

Keeping it fresh

The Cardinals implemented most of their game plan last week in Tempe, but coach Ken Whisenhunt intentionally held some of it back for this week.

“The biggest thing about this week is not allowing things to get stale,” he said. “If you put everything in last week, it makes this game seem like it takes longer to get here than it does.”

Don’t say the word

Defensive end/outside linebacker Bertrand Berry returned to the Cardinals this year after taking a $3 million pay cut. Berry, in his 11th season, turns 34 in August and would like to continue playing.

“I have no intentions of the ‘r’ word,” he said, referring to retirement. “I can’t even say that word. I really feel like I am just getting started. This is the second wind of my career.”

Thinking of Mom

Larry Fitzgerald’s mother, Carol, passed away in 2003 after a long battle with cancer, and the Cardinals receiver knows she would be pleased with her son’s trip to the Super Bowl.

“I think she would be very proud,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s a trip that she always made with my father every year. I know she would probably take the tickets that I would have given her and sold them and gone up to the mall to go shopping and get her a couple of nice outfits.

“She would be looking sharp and I’m just sad she wasn’t able to experience this.”

Turnovers the key

Both teams agree that the winner of the turnover battle Sunday likely will emerge as the Super Bowl champion.

The Cardinals’ defensive players said they will be making it a point to strip the football and to deliver the hardest hits, hoping to cause a fumble or an interception.

“We’re going to be ball hogs,” defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said.

Even one turnover can change things, defensive end/linebacker Travis LaBoy said.

“Anytime you get turnovers in a game, it’s huge,” he said. “You get the momentum swing, you get the offense back on the field, and usually you get some good field position out of it.

“Especially in a game like this where you’ve got one of the top 10 defenses maybe in the history of football with the Steelers, you’ve got to get the ball back to our offense and get them as many opportunities to put points up as possible.”

Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau (right) coaches on the sidelines Sept. 29 against the Baltimore Ravens in Pittsburgh.

TAMPA, Fla. – The Pittsburgh Steelers’ employee the Arizona Cardinals fear most in Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday plays the guitar almost daily, writes songs and rarely raises his voice beyond a conversational tone.

Dick LeBeau doesn’t look like a guy who could strike fear in an opponent’s heart, but the Steelers’ defensive coordinator can cause opposing coaches more sleepless nights than a midnight pizza.

The Cardinals know that all too well. Coach Ken Whisenhunt was on the Steelers staff with LeBeau for three years, and saw what LeBeau did to his offense in practice, and to someone else’s in games.

“I don’t like Dick LeBeau very much,” Whisenhunt joked on the day after the conference championship games.

Seriously, the two men have “as special a relationship as you can have,” Whisenhunt said. “He’s not one of those guys I’m excited about facing because of what he does and what he’s meant to this game.”

The two men were coordinators together for three years with the Steelers under former coach Bill Cowher. Practices turned into tutoring sessions for Whisenhunt and his offense.

In training camp, LeBeau emptied his playbook against the offense, using blitzes and stunts that would have driven other offensive coordinators crazy. Whisenhunt and offensive line coach Russ Grimm, now with the Cardinals, embraced it.

“Some teams go to camp and they say, ‘Can you just play a plain nickel defense until I get everyone on the same page?’ ” Grimm said. “But I’m just the opposite. Go ahead and bring it, we’re going to see it during the year, let’s start picking it up now.”

During the season, the two coordinators turned a weekly practice session into a test of wits and wills. At the end of every Wednesday practice, the Steelers used a third-down drill that consisted of five plays.

There were always winners and losers, although Whisenhunt believed Cowher, a defensive coach, often ruled in favor of that side.

“It was ultra, ultra competitive,” said Cardinals backup quarterback Brian St. Pierre, formerly with the Steelers. “That was for bragging rights and to see who ran and who didn’t have to run. That’s where some of our gadget (plays) were born.”

Steelers notes

TAMPA, Fla. – Wide receiver Hines Ward took part in his first full-scale practice since injuring his right knee in the AFC championship game when the Steelers worked out Thursday for their Super Bowl matchup against the Cardinals.

Ward did not run at full speed as he recovers from a sprained right medial collateral ligament, but worked with the starting offense throughout a rainy practice at the University of South Florida. The Steelers worked out for nearly two hours despite rain that fell hard for 20 minutes and persisted for 45 minutes.

Ward looked “awesome,” according to coach Mike Tomlin, and is expected to play Sunday night. Ward was the only regular listed on the Steelers’ injury report this week.

“He is where I thought he would be today,” Tomlin said.

Tomlin denied any injury problem with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who appeared to be stretching his mid-torso region throughout the Steelers’ second practice of the week.

According to a Pro Football Writers Association of America pool reporter who watched practice – no other reporters were allowed – Roethlisberger threw effectively on both long and short routes, including a 40-yard throw to wide receiver Santonio Holmes.

Roethlisberger was drilled in the back by a helmet during the AFC title game against Baltimore on Jan. 18, and did not leave the game, although backup Byron Leftwich hurriedly warmed up.

The starting offense and defense worked against the scout teams, as usual during a Steelers Thursday practice, with the offense spending time operating inside the 20-yard line.

Leftwich imitated Kurt Warner while running the scout team offense against the defense, with Dallas Baker filling the role of Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

The Associated Press

Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner (right) talks with offensive coordinator Todd Haley during afternoon practice Wednesday in Tampa, Fla., site of Super Bowl XLIII.

TAMPA, Fla. – They argue like brothers sharing a room, text like teenage girls and talk to each other more than they do their wives.

What Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and offensive coordinator Todd Haley don’t do is wonder what the other is thinking. If something is on their minds, it’s just renting space.

“My wife thinks I’m having an affair with Todd because we text so much and talk so much,” Warner said. “She gets a little jealous.”

The relationship between Haley and Warner is a major reason the Cardinals have developed one of the NFL’s more prolific offenses. Both watch hours of video on opponents and constantly think of ways to counter defensive schemes.

“If something pops into my head,” Warner said, “the first thing I do is text Todd and say, ‘What do you think about this?’ Or ‘On this play, I saw this and was thinking this.’ And he will do the same thing back to me. We push each other to be better at what we do.”

In interviews, the two talk about each other in measured tones, and the compliments flow. Warner, said Haley, works as hard as any quarterback he’s coached. And Haley, Warner said, is as willing to listen to a player’s ideas as anyone who’s coached him.

Game days, however, are something else.

Warner has ‘the look’

If something goes wrong on the field, Warner comes to the sidelines looking as if someone stole his car. If a receiver ran a wrong route, Warner lets him know it. If a protection call was blown, he’ll point that out.

His receivers refer to it as “the look.”

“It’s like you did the worst thing ever,” receiver Steve Breaston said. “You try to hide but he’s going to come find you.”

Haley is no different. He challenges players and believes that creative tension produces results. Besides, doing it any other way is foreign to him.

“I’m more to the confrontational side,” Haley said. “I can’t hold things in. It’s something you have to balance all the time. You have to have some semblance of control.”

So when Haley and Warner meet on the sideline, words can fly. Warner shouts and gestures. Haley flips up the mouthpiece on his headset and emphatically makes a point. More than once, Warner has walked away shaking his head.

Warner’s wife, Brenda, often asks her husband after the game what caused this week’s argument with Haley.

“That’s what makes it go,” Haley said of the relationship. “I can push his buttons and he can push mine.”

That’s one reason the Cardinals downplayed Haley’s sideline confrontation with receiver Anquan Boldin in the NFC Championship Game. They had seen similar confrontations with Warner, although those didn’t happen while Haley was trying to call plays.

“I think the quarterback-coordinator relationship is critical,” Haley said. “I think we have a good coach-to-player relationship but I think we also have a good person-to-person relationship.”

Similar alpha dogs

Haley and Warner have a lot in common off the field. Haley, 41, is only four years older than Warner. Haley and his wife, Chrissy, have five children, while the Warners have seven.

The two tease each other as much as they argue. Late in the season, Warner talked about how nice it would be to have a running game to rely upon, which struck Haley as funny, given that Warner is always lobbying to throw. So Haley sent a text to Warner, asking what happened to the guy who earlier in the season said he wanted the ball in his hands as much as possible.

When their tempers have flared, coach Ken Whisenhunt has been understanding. He once shared a small office with Haley when both were assistants with the New York Jets, and they battled each other constantly.

“We’ve almost come to blows at times,” Whisenhunt said, “but then the very next day we’re best friends. I’ve seen that dynamic, I’ve lived that dynamic. I think it’s been good for both of those guys.”

What it comes down to, Haley said, is trust.

“He counts on me on Sunday that when my voice comes into his helmet, that we’re putting him in the best position to succeed,” Haley said. “And that’s a lot of trust. And I’m trusting him that when I make a play call that he’s going to do what gives us the best chance to succeed.”

———

SUPER BOWL XLIII

Arizona (12-7)

vs. Pittsburgh (14-4)

When: 4 p.m. Sunday

Where: Tampa, Fla.

TV: NBC

Line: Steelers by 6.5

———

WARNER THIS SEASON

Season Playoffs

Att.-Comp. 401-598 61-92

Yards 4,583 770

TDs 30 8

INT 14 2

QB rating 96.9 112.1