Matt Freed, Post-Gazette photos Unavailable Monday, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger drew a crowd to his booth yesterday in the Steelers' portion of Media Day at Ford Field.

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette DETROIT -- Cancer helped halfback Duce Staley recently get to know the father he rarely saw while growing up, and now it has claimed Lannie Staley's life one week before his son's first Super Bowl.

Staley will report to the Steelers today to begin preparations for the Super Bowl after taking time off to attend the funeral of his father in South Carolina.

Lannie Staley, 53, died Saturday in Columbia, S.C., where he had been ill with cancer the past year. Staley was given permission to stay home while the team flew to Detroit Monday morning.

"I feel so bad for him," Jerome Bettis said. "He knew this was coming, but you hate to see it happen during Super Bowl week. He's not even going to get to enjoy it."

Bettis and fellow Steelers running backs Willie Parker and Verron Haynes called to comfort Staley.

"We all got together and called him and tried to just show that we are here for him, and we feel for him," Haynes said. "He's supposed to be here [today] and we'll embrace him because he's a family member."

Staley and his estranged father were brought together by the illness last year. It took Lannie Staley's terminal cancer to bring father and son together after two decades of separation brought on by divorce.

"I'm just thankful to be in a situation where I can communicate with him," Staley said in May.

Staley had rarely seen his father before he was informed in the fall of 2004 that Lannie Staley had lung and stomach cancer. The younger Staley paid him visits and they would play poker and talk.

"It was special because I finally got a chance to sit down and talk to him face to face," said Staley last spring. "That's what made the relationship special."

Erroneous report

The Steelers denied a report on ESPN television and radio that coach Bill Cowher called the NFL to try to fire the transportation company that bused the Steelers from the airport to their hotel Monday.

Bryant McFadden, left, and Tyrone Carter ham it up yesterday for the TSN network from Canada. Click photo for larger image.

They acknowledged that the buses stopped because an outdoor latch came undone during the trip to the hotel, but said Cowher never tried to drop the bus company because of it, as ESPN reported.

"It never happened," Dan Rooney said emphatically yesterday. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said he heard nothing about a phone call from Cowher on the matter.

Bad choice

Former Steelers linebacker Chad Brown became a free agent last year and entertained three offers: One from the Seattle Seahawks, who had released him; one from the Steelers; and one from the two-time defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.

Of the three, the Patriots' was the smallest. Brown chose New England, anyway, because he said he wanted the best chance to get to the Super Bowl.

Fatherly advice

Ross Browner, tackle Max Starks' father, played defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI, which the 49ers won, 26-21, in the Pontiac Silverdome, where the Steelers practice this week.

Starks did not know his father until his late teens, but talks to him frequently now, and recently received some advice about this week.

"He told me about media day and the other distractions," Starks said. "He also told me, 'Son, you have your strength, you have your morals, be sure you don't get into the pitfalls or the distractions surrounding this week. There are a lot of things to do, a lot of things out there but realize what the end goal is in your mind. I've been on the other end of a Super Bowl game. Trust me, you don't want to be in the "L" column, you want to get into the "W" column.' That's one thing I'm working hard on -- not getting distracted and focusing on the game plan."

Wrong number

Linebacker Joey Porter received No. 95 when he reported to his first training camp in the summer of 1999. Then the comparisons to Greg Lloyd began. He looked like him, played like him and wore his number.

Porter asked to switch numbers and received 55 before the start of his rookie season.

"Greg Lloyd was great," Porter explained. "At some point in time, you want to have your own identity, and for me to do that, I had to get out of that number because everything I did, it was Greg Lloyd and not Joey Porter. I was always compared to what Greg Lloyd did, and that was just preseason. I knew that would happen through my whole [career], that I could never be my own man if I wore that jersey. And it's a compliment to Greg, because he was definitely a great player. But at the same time, you want to have your own identity."

Out and about?

The Steelers had the rest of yesterday off after they concluded their required one-hour interviews with the media at Ford Field at about 11 a.m. They had their team Super Bowl photo taken, and the players were then free to their own pursuits.

Ike Taylor, a hip, young, starting cornerback, couldn't wait to get started.

"I'm going back to my room to sleep," he said.