The sun came out for the final 45 minutes of practice as the Arizona Cardinals wrapped up their last major day of work in preparation for Super Bowl XLIII. The team plans a final walk-through Saturday morning for about 30 minutes at the Tampa Bay Bucs' facility. They will not be visiting Raymond James Stadium prior to the game.

"I thought it was a good week of work," Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said after practice. "You always wonder when you go on the road and your team is practicing in another facility if your team is going to have the consistency that you've had.

No question that it helped us that we've already done this once this season."

Whisenhunt was referring to the week-long stay the Cardinals made in the Washington, D.C. area between the September 21 game against the Redskins and the following Sunday's a game in the Meadowlands against the New York Jets.

"I think it got us used to staying in a hotel, practicing on someone else's field while also having to bus around all week," he said. "These were very similar conditions this week."

Starting quarterback Kurt Warner may have had his best throwing day of the week on Friday, misfiring on only three passes during the two hour and 20-minute practice.

"Kurt looked like he's been looking," Whisenhunt said. "He was consistent and made some good throws. He looked sharp."

The Cardinals spent a concentrated period of time in the middle of practice working on punt protection, but the highlight of special team drills was when kicker Neil Rackers bounced three consecutive 20-yard field goals off the second-floor windows of the Bucs' facility."

"It seemed like it fired up a lot of the guys," Whisenhunt said. "I think some of them wanted to see (a window go)."

Whisenhunt declined to reveal what he said to his players in a three-minute huddle at the end of the day. And also whatever plans he has for the weekend. His team will have a curfew tonight and Saturday night. The last no-curfew night for the players was Tuesday.

Arizona Cardinals Pool Report – Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 By John Czarnecki

SUPER BOWL XLIII RELATED

Super Bowl XLIII: Better Than Super
Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers 27 Cardinals 23

The Super Bowl keeps topping itself. Last year, it was Eli Manning escaping a horde of rushers to connect with David Tyree on that unreal "helmet catch." Last Sunday in Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa Bay, it was Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger flinging a pass "I thought was going to be picked," as he described it, to Santonio Holmes, who, straining on his tiptoes, made only the latest "greatest Super Bowl catch ever" to give Pittsburgh a 27-23 victory over Arizona.

Steelers Defeat Cardinals 27-23, Holmes MVP
Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers 27 Cardinals 23

Santonio Holmes extended his arms, kept his feet on the ground and held on to Ben Roethlisberger's perfectly placed pass deep in the right corner of the end zone.

The amazing touchdown catch -- against three Cardinal defenders -- capped an 8-play 78 yard drive with 35 seconds remaining.

Thus, giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.

Arizona Cardinals Relaxed Atmosphere in Final Prep
Super Bowl XLIII: Cardinals Practice Report - January 31, 2009

The Cardinals kept the atmosphere relaxed as the team completed their final preparations for Super Bowl XLIII with a walk-through practice.

Steelers Set for Super Bowl Showdown
Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers Practice Report - January 31, 2009

Summing up the week, Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin said: "It's been good. Ultimately, though, it will be judged by how we perform tomorrow. We understand that."

Loose & Relaxed Steelers Ready to Play
Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers Practice Report - January 30. 2009

The Pittsburgh Steelers, appearing loose and relaxed for the third straight day, hustled through their final major practice prior to Super Bowl XLIII Friday, and coach Mike Tomlin said his team was completely healthy heading into Super Bowl XLIII against the Arizona Cardinals.

Cardinals Anquan Boldin Looking Good

Wide receiver Anquan Boldin participated fully and showed no effects of a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the Divisional Playoff game against Carolina. "He looked good today and he also looked good late last week," Whisenhunt said of Boldin. "We took a little easier on him early last week just to be safe."

Steelers Hines Ward Not 100% But Ready to Go

Other than Ward, the 32-year old inspirational lead of the Pittsburgh offense, the Steelers have no health issues on either side of the ball, Tomlin said. But the coach was dismissive when asked if he was concerned about Ward's status for Sunday's game. "Hines is playing," Tomlin said. "I'm not worried about him."

Big Ben's Health Often Subject of Inaccurate Reports

Big Ben's Health Often Subject of Inaccurate Reports Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin denied a Profootballtalk.com report that Roethlisberger has undergone X-rays on his back this week. "Not that I heard," said Tomlin, who then asked Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett if he knew of any X-rays on Roethlisberger. Lockett said no. Then Tomlin said: "Ben's health is often the subject of inaccurate reports. He's fine."

Larry Fitzgerald, Simply Amazing
Super Bowl XLIII: Larry Fitzgerald

Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald has been simply amazing with a playoffs record 419 receiving yards and an inspiring performance against the Eagles in the NFC Championship.

Kurt Warner, Renaissance Man
Super Bowl XLIII: Kurt Warner

Not only is Kurt Warner getting better with age, but he's raising his level of play as the stakes get higher. No better example than this year's playoff run.

Steelers Game-By-Game Playoff Statistics

Cardinals Game-By-Game Playoff Statistics

Steelers Defeat Ravens 23-14, Advance to Super Bowl XLIII

The Pittsburgh Steelers advanced to their 7th Super Bowl appearance overall and second in four seasons by defeating the Baltimore Ravens 23-14 in the AFC Championship Game at Heinz Field.

Super Bowl XLIII in the Cards for Arizona
NFC Championship: Cardinals Defeat Eagles 32-25, Advance to Super Bowl XLIII

The Arizona Cardinals advance to Super Bowl XLIII with a 32-25 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 24-6 halftime lead, but the Eagles stormed back with 19 unanswered points in the second half to take a 25-24 lead with 10:56 left in the game. The Cardinals responded with a 14-play, 72-yard drive capped off by Kurt Warner's 4th touchdown pass, an eight-yard shuffle pass to Cardinals running back Tim Hightower.