– Despite the best efforts of Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin to keep the story under raps, Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger apparently underwent an x-ray on his ribs on Wednesday. Big Ben suffered the injury in the AFC Championship Game, but there is no indication that he’ll miss the Super Bowl. (Rotoworld.com)

– Hines Ward returned to full practice on Thursday and is on track to start Sunday against the Cardinals. (FanHouse.com)

– Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Steelers’ defense won’t let Kurt Warner enjoy a fairy-tale ending to his 2008 season. (Los Angeles Times)

– Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News wrote an excellent piece featuring the top two safeties in this year’s Super Bowl: Adrian Wilson of the Cardinals and Troy Polamalu of the Steelers. (Dallas Morning News)

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– Steelers’ wideout Hines Ward did not go through 11-on-11 drives on Wednesday, but he did catch passes and made cuts on his sprained knee. He’s still expected to play on Sunday. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

– The Cardinals are expected to use rookie cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to shadow Pittsburgh wideout Santonio Holmes. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

– Speaking of Holmes, he admitted to the press on Wednesday that he used to sell drugs as a teenager, but now hopes to help at-risk teens in the same situation he was in growing up to turn the situation into a positive. (Associated Press)

– Former Steeler Rod Woodson believes that Kurt Warner and the Cardinals may go straight into their two-minute offense to start the game so that Pittsburgh’s defense can’t get into their blitz-checks right away. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

– Kurt Warner hopes the young Cardinals can avoid the pitfalls that come with playing in the Super Bowl. (theSpread.com)

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