PITTSBURGH (AP) -Free agent safety Tyrone Carter re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, inking a three-year contract on Monday.

Carter, a seven-year veteran, played in all 16 games in 2006, starting three. He finished with 42 tackles - the most in his three seasons with the Steelers - and two sacks and two forced fumbles.

The Minnesota Vikings drafted Carter in the fourth round of the 2000 draft. He spent two seasons with the Vikings and one year with the New York Jets before signing with Pittsburgh as a f

HONOLULU (AP) -A former NFL player who joined the Marines and was motivated by college roommate Pat Tillman, who died in Afghanistan, was heading for the war in Iraq Tuesday night.

Lance Cpl. Jeremy Staat, a former defensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers and St. Louis Rams who had been playing Arena Football, was one of 300 Marines in the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment being deployed from Kaneohe Bay. The unit is expected to be in Iraq for seven months.

``The way I look at it, we're spreading free

Bockwoldt played mostly on special teams for Tennessee last season after two years with the New Orleans Saints, starting 16 games in 2005.

The Titans and the Pittsburgh Steelers also hoped to sign him, but Bockwoldt chose to reunite with 49ers special teams coordinator Al Everest, his coach in New Orleans for two years.

Bockwoldt is the fifth free-agent defensive player to join the 49ers in March, along with cornerback Na

Porter could face up to a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine, Wright said, but no court date was immediately available.

Porter, 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, left the Pittsburgh Steelers after eight years and signed a five-year, $32 million deal with the Dolphins earlier this month. Jones, 6-5 and 307 pounds, missed much of last season with a knee injury.

``It seems they go against each other on the field, and here they take it in

PITTSBURGH (AP) -Cornerback Chidi Iwuoma signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday.

Iwuoma, 29, was a member of the Steelers from 2002-05, but was released before the start of last season. He re-signed in December and played two games before being placed on the injured reserve with a wrist injury.

The 5-foot-9, 184-pound Iwuoma recorded 72 special-teams tackles with the Steelers. He began his NFL career in 2001 as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions.

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Other athletes linked to the scandal, in various reports, are Jose Canseco, John Rocker, Jerry Hairston Jr., David Bell and Darren Holmes, former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, Pittsburgh Steelers doctor Richard Rydze, 1996 Olympic wrestling gold medalist Kurt Angle and bodybuilder Victor Martinez.

NFL and baseball officials went to Albany last week to meet with Soares and other investigators.

``We have asked the DA's office for any infor

PITTSBURGH (AP) -Offensive lineman Sean Mahan became the Pittsburgh Steelers' first free agent pickup of the offseason, agreeing Saturday to a five-year contract.

Mahan, formerly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will compete with backup Chukky Okobi and right guard Kendall Simmons to replace former Pro Bowl center Jeff Hartings, who retired after last season.

Mahan, a fifth-round pick from Notre Dame in 2003, started eight games at center in 2004 before switching to guard. He started 16 games at right guard in

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -Punter Andy Lee will stay with the San Francisco 49ers, who matched the Pittsburgh Steelers' contract offer to the restricted free agent on Thursday.

Lee, who played in college at Pitt, agreed to a six-year contract worth more than $7 million with the Steelers on Monday. The 49ers quickly matched the deal for Lee, who has spent each of his three pro seasons with San Francisco.

Lee had his best season in 2006 after beating out veteran Tom Rouen in training camp, posting the highest