A rematch of Super Bowl XLIII will open Monday Night Football's preseason schedule in August when the Steelers host the Cardinals. The game will take place on Thursday, Aug. 13 at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN's Mike Tirico and analysts Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser will call four preseason games during August.

Free agent OT Marvel Smith, the former Steelers Pro Bowl standout has agreed on a multiyear contract with the 49ers, according to an ESPN report on Friday. Details of the contract, confirmed by sources close to Smith, were not yet available. But in a deal that protects the 49ers if Smith suffers further back problems, the nine-year veteran can earn more than $10M, if he is healthy for the first two seasons of the contract.

The Steelers will find out on Monday how many additional draft picks they will receive this year. Pittsburgh already has eight picks in this year's draft, and they could get as high as a third-round pick for losing guard Alan Faneca via free agency last year.

The NFL could add a rule to eliminate a blindside block to the head of a defender, which could come to be known as the Hines Ward Rule. Those proposing the rule acknowledged that Ward's block in October, which broke the jaw of rookie Cincinnati linebacker Keith Rivers, was among the plays reviewed when they drew it up. "It's one of several plays we looked at, that's correct," said Ray Anderson, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations. "Under this year's rules, that was a legal hit but we're trying to advance our player safety ... and that would be a flag play."

President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that he has picked Steelers owner Dan Rooney to be U.S. ambassador to Ireland. Rooney endorsed Obama in the 2008 presidential election. In the 1970s, Rooney helped found the American Ireland Fund, an organization that has raised millions for advocacy of peace and education in Ireland.

Julius Peppers still wants out of Carolina, and two of the four teams he'd welcome a trade to are the Patriots and Cowboys. On Monday, the Panthers refuted rumors that they were in negotiations with the Patriots on a deal involving Peppers. Along with Dallas and New England, two unidentified NFC teams are reportedly on the list of clubs Peppers would prefer.

Linebacker James Harrison will report to voluntary workouts with the Steelers on Monday despite the lack of a new contract, according to his agent. "Yes, James will be there," agent Bill Parise said of Harrison. Negotiations are ongoing between the Super Bowl champions and the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year. "We're talking and meeting pretty regularly, almost daily, but we're having a difficult time getting to where we need to be," Parise said last month.

Eleven banners from the Steelers Super Bowl victory parade have been stolen from the Pittsburgh Public Works department's garage. Director Guy Costa says workers found only two signs in the storage area Friday, meaning someone stole 11 others.

Pittsburgh's negotiations with James Harrison have slowed, and the sides remain far apart on a new contract for the NFL's defensive player of the year. Harrison has one year remaining on a contract that will pay him $1.4 million in 2009, and it is not likely there will be an agreement anytime soon on a new deal.

Chris Carr was in Pittsburgh on Thursday for a visit with the Steelers. Carr, a fourth-year pro out of Boise State, finished fourth in the NFL in kickoff-return average. He averaged 28.1 yards on 35 attempts. He was 12th in the league in punt-return average, averaging 10.1 yards on 32 attempts in 2008, his first season in Tennessee following three in Oakland. Carr, who will turn 26 on April 30, also has visited the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots.