Joe Jurevicius would like to remain a Seahawk, and the team has expressed its desire to retain him, his agent said. If he is not re-signed by Friday, the free-agent market should be good for Jurevicius, who caught 55 passes for 694 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

Maybe it's just some pre-free agency posturing, but it sounds like one team rumored to be very interested in signing Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander is not so big on the idea. That team would be the Arizona Cardinals. They have plenty of room under the salary cap to do some things in free agency and were put into the mix for Alexander because of their cap space and their struggles with a running game last season. Running backs Marcel Shipp and J.J. Arrington did not produce the way the Cardinals had hoped, and Alexander will be a free agent unless the Seahawks can reach an agreement with him before Friday. But comments from Arizona coach Dennis Green and Rod Graves, vice president of football operations, at the NFL combine indicate the Cardinals aren't too willing to make the big splash. "A blockbuster deal in my opinion is one that eats up most of your cap space," Green said. "It means you get one player and one and done. And we're not going to do that. If you ask me if we're going to go after one of the incredible backs that might be available in a blockbuster deal, that probably will not happen."

The NFC champion Seattle Seahawks designated All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson as the team's transition player on Thursday after the sides were unable to reach a long-term contract. Hutchinson will receive a one-year contract for the average salary of the top 10 offensive linemen from the 2005 season, $6.39 million. Hutchinson can receive offers from other teams once the free agency period begins on March 3, but Seattle has the right of first refusal on any offers. Seattle has until March 17 to reach a long-term contract with Hutchinson, or will have to wait until July to begin negotiations again. Calls to Hutchinson's agent, Tom Condon, were not immediately returned.

If Shaun Alexander is the NFL's best running back, Steve Hutchinson might as well be known as the most dominant left guard in the pros. And he, like Alexander, wishes to remain a Seahawk. "I'd like to stay in Seattle, and we've got a good thing going," Hutchinson said after the NFC's practice at the Ihilani Resort outside of Honolulu. "They drafted me. A bunch of other teams passed up on me. So they had the confidence in using their first-round pick on me. And then we've weathered the storm the first couple of years when we really couldn't put too much together, and now we've really started to see the benefits of hard work." The Seahawks favor keeping the current team together. It probably won't happen, as at least a couple of the team's 15 potential unrestricted free agents are bound to not be re-signed or accept offers from other teams. But Hutchinson is a must-have, some say. "He's a great player and he's a vital part of the locker room and he's a vital part of our offense," center Robbie Tobeck said. "There's a reason he's been in three Pro Bowls ? it's because he's such a great player, and I think it's key to continue our success to have guys like him in the locker room." Hutchinson, 28, is the leading candidate for the Seahawks' franchise tag, as Alexander's expiring contract stipulates that he cannot be franchised by the team.

Without Shaun Alexander there likely wouldn't have been a No. 1 seed, a conference championship or a trip to the Super Bowl for the Seahawks. So, the National Football League's MVP wants to know, what will the Seahawks do to keep him in blue and green? "The most important thing to me is just fair. When everybody is fair, no one holds anything back," Alexander said just hours before departing to Honolulu for the Pro Bowl. His status for the game is uncertain because of a sprained foot. "It's one of those things where if you're trying to get a deal, then usually somebody has to sacrifice something. I don't think that we're in the situation where we don't have to be fair. We definitely can do everything correctly where everybody wins."

The NFL defended the officiating in the Super Bowl on Tuesday, two days after the Steelers beat the Seahawks 21-10 in the NFL title game. The league said Tuesday that no mistakes were made by the game officials, although Seattle coach Mike Holmgren might disagree. "The game was properly officiated, including, as in most NFL games, some tight plays that produced disagreement about the calls made by the officials," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement. The officiating has been a the major topic of discussion since Sunday night. Right after the game, Holmgren suggested that the first-quarter offensive interference call on the Seahawks' Darrell Jackson, negating what would have been the game's first touchdown, probably should have been "a no call." Holmgren, a former chairman of the NFL's rule-making competition committee, fueled the debate Monday during a rally for the Seahawks at Qwest Field when he said, "We knew it was going to be tough going up against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I didn't know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts as well."

General manager Tim Ruskell faces a difficult offseason. He has to sign left guard Steve Hutchinson. He has to find probably one more speedy pass receiver and, depending on the health of Ken Hamlin, another safety. Equally as important as signing Hutchinson, Ruskell has to find a way to fit MVP Alexander under the crowded salary cap. "I want to be here," Alexander said after the game. "I've said that from the very beginning."

The Patriots are apparently interested in talking to Seahawks receiver Joe Jurevicius, who like NFL MVP Shaun Alexander and Pro Bowl guard Steve Hutchinson, are now free agents. Jurevicius signed a one-year deal with Seattle before the season and became a critical cog after injuries to starting receivers Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram earlier this season. Jurevicius, who played in his third Super Bowl with three different teams [Giants, Bucs and Seahawks] in just his eighth year, had 10 touchdown catches this season.

Their Super Bowl is not even a day old, but it's not soon enough for the Seahawks to begin preparing for the next one. Free agency begins March 3, and the team must quickly make decisions regarding 15 pending free agents, with emphasis on All-Pro running back Shaun Alexander and All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson. The good news is that Alexander, Hutchinson and All-Pro fullback Mack Strong are the only regular starters on either side of the ball scheduled to become free agents. The bad news is that Alexander and Hutchinson will cost the team a lot of money to re-sign. The Seahawks did not want to talk about possible offseason plans while the season was ongoing, but they have the money to keep most of their key players and perhaps add a few. According to an NFL Players Association source, the Seahawks have $76 million committed against the 2006 salary cap, which is projected to be between $92 million and $95 million. That gives the Seahawks at least $16 million to sign Alexander, Hutchinson and any others, including their three restricted free agents and their draft class.

The Bus didn't win the Super Bowl for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the final game of his career. Didn't even have a lot to do with it, until he was given the ball to grind up some yards and run down the clock toward the end. Don't believe for a minute, though, that this wasn't Jerome Bettis' game. It was from the time he told his teammates to take him home before they went out and beat the Denver Broncos to get here. It surely was after the Steelers landed in Motor City and Bettis showed them his town. He lumbered alone onto the field for the pregame introductions, then turned around and beckoned for his teammates to follow him. He threw a block to help Ben Roethlisberger score and then walked around the end zone searching for a souvenir in the ball his quarterback had spiked.