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Friday, January 25, 2002

By Shelly Anderson, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS -- In an incident that Steelers fans can relate to, St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner was held out of practice yesterday afternoon after having a bad reaction to what was supposed to be a helpful medical procedure.

Warner, the NFL's MVP, got electronic stimulation, or "stim," on his bruised ribs in the morning to increase blood flow and make him more comfortable, but instead the muscles in that area started to spasm.

Rams Coach Mike Martz likened the situation to cramps and said Warner's absence from practice was precautionary to make sure he didn't injure himself further while compensating for the spasms.

"He was fine [Wednesday] and he'll be fine [today]," Martz said.

Sunday, tailback Jerome Bettis missed the Steelers' 27-10 victory against Baltimore after an injection meant to numb pain in his groin instead deadened his leg.

In Warner's case, though, the bad reaction happened on a practice day, not moments before St. Louis was to play a postseason game. The Rams will play host to Philadelphia in the NFC championship Sunday.

Warner has had a lot of physical problems lately, including a thumb injury, back spasms, the flu, bruised ribs and a throat injury that left him under orders not to speak for more than a week.

Martz did not sound worried. Asked to clarify whether the stim was for Warner's ribs or back, he joked, "His throat."

First cut is the deepest

Defensive tackle Jeff Zgonina has been with five NFL teams and is in his second go-round with the Rams.

He won a Super Bowl ring with the Rams two years ago and has firmly established himself as a starter, but he still remembers the sting of being cut -- especially the first time.

Zgonina was a seventh-round draft pick by the Steelers in 1993 and spent two seasons with them before getting the dreaded phone call during the 1994 preseason.

"It's the worst thing in the world. You get a phone call Sunday morning for a Friday night game -- time to go see [Coach Bill] Cowher," said Zgonina, who was then picked up by Carolina.

"OK. I just bought a house in Pittsburgh, and all of a sudden I'm going to Carolina. It's a bad deal."

Not that he's bitter or anything, but Zgonina likes the idea of meeting, and beating, the Steelers next week in the Super Bowl.

"Oh, it would be great to play against the team that drafted me," he said.

Short kicks

The Philadelphia Eagles are scheduled to arrive in town today. ... Rams free safety Kim Herring and defensive tackle Tyoka Jackson are from Penn State. Herring starts; Jackson is a backup. Marc Bulger is a rookie quarterback out of West Virginia who has been St. Louis' inactive third-stringer all season. ... Philadelphia starting center Hank Fraley is from Robert Morris and originally signed with the Steelers. Eagles tight end Tony Stewart is from Penn State.