DETROIT -- Coach Bill Cowher yesterday pronounced safety Troy Polamalu "OK" and upgraded the injury status of two other players as the Steelers finished their final full practice in preparation for the Super Bowl.

Polamalu, placed on the injury report Thursday with an ankle injury, practiced yesterday, although he left drills 30 minutes early.

Fullback Dan Kreider (knee) and backup defensive end Travis Kirschke (ankle) practiced and were upgraded to probable.

Cowher said a magnetic resonance imaginc scan on Polamalu's injured ankle Thursday showed no damage. Polamalu left practice Thursday when the ankle was injured and was listed as probable for the game .

"Everything came back negative ... or positive, from our standpoint," Cowher said before practice. "There is nothing really there. We'll see how he feels today and monitor how much he does today. He should be fine for Sunday."

Cowher also gave a good report on Kreider, who has not practiced this week because of a knee injury and is still listed as questionable for tomorrow's game. Kreider was injured in the AFC championship game in Denver.

Cowher took questions from the media for 15 minutes and was followed by Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, each giving his final interview of the week.

"All the talk is almost over,'' Cowher said. "We can now go out and play the game."

Swann pulls for Steelers ...

Former Super Bowl MVP and Republican gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann said he believes two forces are in play for the Steelers: the desire to continue a tradition that began in the 1970s and the freshness of winning for a new generation.

"I see the Super Bowl as part of the Steelers' legacy," Swann said yesterday. "There's that old saying about win one for the thumb. But, for Bill Cowher and the players, this would be their first championship. But it fits in with the legacy of the Pittsburgh Steelers."

Swann said he'll be cheering the Steelers "right down to the last second" and likes several things about this team.

"They're playing up. They're not playing scared [or] waiting for the other shoe to drop. I think they're playing their best football right now. Maybe being the sixth seed was just what they needed."

Gov. Ed Rendell, the Democratic incumbent, is in Detroit and rooting for the Steelers even though he is from Philadelphia. Swann said he was rooting for the Eagles in last year's Super Bowl because they were a Pennsylvania team. Rendell and Swann have not crossed paths at the Super Bowl.

... and Penguins, too

Swann said that, if elected, he would work to secure an agreement that would allow the Penguins to build a new arena and keep the franchise in Pittsburgh.

"We do not want to lose the Penguins," Swann said. "Mario Lemieux has worked hard to keep the team in Pittsburgh, and we want to try do what it necessary to make sure that happens."

One coach's perspective

One of the more interesting perspectives on the Super Bowl came from Steelers secondary coach Darren Perry, who played for the Steelers when they lost Super Bowl XXX to Dallas.

Perry said earlier this week how much he has enjoyed this week, how the Steelers' run has been so much fun. But he admitted it just wasn't the same for him as when he knew he was going to play tomorrow.

"It isn't nearly as exciting as it was when I was gearing up to play," Perry said. "I know that I won't have an opportunity to make that game-saving tackle or the big play that will get replayed on and on forever. So, while I am excited to be here and this has been a wonderful ride, there is no substitute for that feeling of knowing, come Sunday, you are going to have the chance to perform at the highest level."

On the other side

Former Steelers great Rod Woodson is here as an analyst for NFL Network, doing interviews with players for both teams and with Cowher.

Perry, who was Woodson's teammate when he was with the Steelers, thought that was pretty interesting.

"The thing I told Rod is that I would have hated to have to try and coach him," Perry said, laughing. "He just didn't listen, but that's how talented he was. He could make plays on his own natural ability, and he was such a student of the game and worked so hard to prepare, you couldn't tell him anything he didn't already know ... or think he knew. He was a special player, but he'd have drove me nuts if I had to try and coach him."