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Live From Super Bowl Media Day

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TBO.com

Published: January 27, 2009

Updated: 01/27/2009 12:32 pm

12:30 p.m.: The Steelers have a sense of been there, done that, as reflected in defensive standout James Harrison's thoughts:

"I'm here to play a football game. If it doesn't have anything to do with football, I'm not doing it."

Linebacker James Farrior added that the Steelers are aware of the team's history, including its five Super Bowl wins, but weren't obsessed with it.

"We're not focusing on being the first to six (Super Bowl wins), we're just focusing on winning the game and the rest of it will take care of itself."

12;30 p.m.: Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, formerly an assistant with the Bucs, credits cornerback Ronde Barber with helping him become a successful head coach.

"Players learn from coaches, obviously, but good coaches learn from players, too. The thing I learned from Ronde was his supreme confidence in himself and in the team's ability to achieve its goals.'

"That inspired me, and he is as big a reason as any that I am where I am today, to be honest with you."

Tomlin and new Bucs head coach Raheem Morris, who served together under Jon Gruden, had dinner Monday night in Tampa.

"The thing about Raheem is he's not going to change, he's not going to suddenly put his head coach hat on," Tomlin said.

"When we get together we tell lies, and old stories, and reminisce."

12:25 p.m.: Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has learned to embrace Media Day the second time around.

Three years after he led Pittsburgh to a Super Bowl matchup against Seattle, Roethlisberger appeared relaxed Tuesday even while surrounded by hundreds of journalists.

"You get all kinds of crazy questions on a day like this, but you just have to roll with it," he said.

"Don't be overwhelmed by distractions. Keep your focus on the game ahead. It's been a little easier for me to do that this year."

There's a sharp contrast between Roethlisberger and Arizona veteran Kurt Warner, but both have proven successful in getting to the big stage.

"Nothing I do is typical," said Roethlisberger. "I run around too much, I hold the ball too long, but somehow the job gets done. I think Kurt Warner is a phenomenal football player. I love watching the guy play. I have a lot of respect for him and the way he plays the game."

12:25 p.m.: Offensive lineman Max Starks may be a Steeler now, but he hasn't forgotten his roots from the University of Florida. And though he's the only Gator on the Pittsburgh roster, that doesn't seem to bother him.

"You don't need a lot of Gators to be successful," he said. "You only need one."

12:15 p.m.: Steelers star receiver Hines Ward, rehabilitating a sprained knee, reiterated that he expects to play Sunday, saying he is walking around without a brace and expects to try cutting on Thursday.

"Having a whole week off last week, I've tried to put two weeks of rehab into one week," he said.

Asked how he feels percentage-wise, Ward said, "I feel good.".

After a media brunch, the Steelers are gathering to answer the same type questions posed to the Cardinals this morning.

Steelers with the greatest media demand got bleachers in front of their interview stages during media day.

Those with bleachers were coach Mike Tomlin, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and receiver Hines Ward.

The media were left to fight for a spot in front of safety Troy Polamalu, linebacker James Harrison and running back Willie Parker.

11 a.m.: Edgerrin James' former Indianapolis Colts teammates felt he contributed so much to the organization that they gave him a Super Bowl ring when they won it all two years ago.

Now James wants to earn a ring on the field. While he appreciated the Colts' gesture, the Arizona running back wants to "shock the world" with his current team.

"I don't think a lot of people expected us to be here," James said. "This team has what it takes, it's just a matter of someone doing it."

Frustrated earlier by his lack of involvement in the Cardinals offense, James is enjoying a more beefed up role this postseason.

"At the end of the day, I made no secrets I wanted to play.," James said. "You want to try to get everything you want to get. You want to get everything the NFL has to offer."

10:55 a.m.: Larry Fitzgerald will do everything in his power Sunday to disappoint the football fans of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania, a group of people he holds in the highest regard.

A brief but remarkable college career at the University of Pittsburgh instilled a love for the city and its fans in the Cardinals' star receiver.

"I think those two years there were probably the best two years of my life - I had so much fun," Fitzgerald said this morning at Super Bowl media day. "The people in that town are amazing people - football fanatics. They love their Steelers, they love their football."

They loved Fitzgerald, too, when he played for the Panthers. Before the Cardinals made him the third overall pick in the 2004 draft, Fitzgerald compiled impressive numbers as a freshman and sophomore.

The Minneapolis native caught 161 passes for 2,677 yards and 34 touchdowns in a 26-game college career that culminated in a runner-up finish in the 2003 Heisman Trophy voting. He played his home games at Heinz Field, and it maintains a special place in his heart.

"It was a home away from home for me and I really appreciated my time there," Fitzgerald said.

10:55 a.m.: Cardinals punter Ben Graham is the first Australian to play in the Super Bowl.

"Growing up in Australia, Aussie rules football is about all the skills. You have to be tough, you don't wear pads. I thought when I first came over here I could be a receiver. I now appreciate that it's important to play my role. This is a very specialized sport."

Graham debuted in the NFL with the Jets and actually was on the field for a few Hail Mary plays as a receiver.

10:50 a.m.:Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt says he's gotten advice (?) from former Steelers coach Bill Cowher. Whisenhunt was an assistant for Cowher, and interviewed for the Pittsburgh job that eventually went to former Bucs assistant Mike Tomlin when Cowher left the Steelers after the 2006 season.

"(Cowher) told me not to mess it up," Whisenhunt said.

10:40 a.m.: Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner, about being back on the field:

"Now that I'm back here playing, there's only one goal: and that is to get back to the Super Bowl... It's been beyond belief to some degree."

10:30 a.m.: The old adage that the most popular guy in town is the backup quarterback tak"es on a whole meaning when that backup is Matt Leinart.

The former USC star and first-round draft pick lost the starting job to Kurt Warner in training camp, but you wouldn't know it from the crowd of reporters following him around even though he's not seated at a podium.

"I've learned a lot about the quarterback position just sitting," Leinart said.

"That's really what I need to do to become a better football player."

10:20 a.m.: Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson, talking about the changes in the team under coach Ken Whisenhunt:

"Before he got there, this was a very undisciplined football team. He brought discipline, he brought rules, and he brought consequences. That made all the difference with this team."

10:15 a.m.: Arizona running back Edgerrin James, as even the casual fan knows, is a product of "The U", the University of Miami. Speaking at one of the field podiums, he wasn't hesitant to speak boldly of his days in Coral Gables:

"The University of Miami is represented very well in the NFL. When I was there, if everybody would have stayed we would have won four or five national championships in a row. But guys had the ability to go to the NFL, and they did that."

10 a.m.: The media throngs have descended upon the playing field here at Raymond James Stadium, as several members of the Arizona Cardinals (including quarterback Kurt Warner and head coach Ken Whisenhunt) patiently field redundant questions. They're playing for a world championship in five days, so their good humor is understandable.

Stay tuned for the usual in and outs and general silliness of Super Bowl Media Day.

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