The Steelers-Cardinals matchup wasn't considered an ideal one for television, but its finish riveted an estimated audience of 95.4 million people, second only to last year's game as the most-watched Super Bowl.

Viewership peaked in the fourth quarter, when Arizona took the lead on Larry Fitzgerald's 64-yard catch and sprint to the end zone only to have it snatched back when Santonio Holmes' end zone leap gave the Steelers the 27-23 win. More than 100 million Americans were watching between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. EST, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The game was the third most-watched program in American television history, after the 106 million people who watched the "M• A• S• H" series finale in 1983 and the 97.4 million who watched the Giants end the Patriots' bid for an undefeated season in the 2008 Super Bowl.

"The Super Bowl, once again, proved its ability to capture America," said Dick Ebersol, NBC Universal Sports chairman.

The NFL's championship is traditionally television's biggest event of the year. Yet between 1998 and 2004, none of the games reached the 90 million mark in viewers. Each game for the past four years topped 90 million.

Arizona's first visit to the Super Bowl hadn't drawn much buzz outside of the Southwest. But the Steelers, perhaps because of their four Super Bowl wins in six years in the 1970s, has more of a national constituency than the city's size would suggest. Both of its past two Super Bowl trips topped the 90 million mark, with the Steelers' 1996 loss to Dallas the most popular Super Bowl until it was beaten last year.

Fans erupted into cries of "Let's go, Cardinals" as the team returned to Phoenix one day after a tough loss. Coach Ken Whisenhunt and some of team's stars briefly addressed the crowd of more than 4,000 that met the Cardinals at Sky Harbor International Airport. Whisenhunt thanked the fans for coming out, saying they gave the team an emotional lift. Receiver Larry Fitzgerald told well-wishers that the team loves them, and he promised another Super Bowl trip.

Tampa police have released their highlights from the Super Bowl: 26 arrests, 18 ejections and 4 small planes that breached the secure air space above Raymond James Stadium. Police say they charged nine people with selling counterfeit tickets Sunday. One person is charged with selling counterfeit NFL merchandise. Two others were charged with selling fake credentials to the game. Two people allegedly tried to steal their way into the stadium. Police say they swiped one fan's tickets, but dropped them while attempting to flee from officers. The tickets were worth $800 apiece. One driver was charged in a DUI crash involving a police horse. The horse and its officer were not injured. The four planes breached the secure air space set around the stadium before the game began.

Nancy Neville Adams, who co-owned the Titans with her husband, Bud Adams, has died. She was 84. The Titans announced that she died Sunday night in Houston but did not release the cause. Nancy Adams also was on the Titans' board. She continued to live in Houston after the Oilers relocated to Tennessee and became the Titans.

Sylvester Croom, who resigned under pressure as coach at Mississippi State, is the new running backs coach for St. Louis. Coach Steve Spagnuolo announced the hiring yesterday, along with four others -- Tom McMahon as special teams coordinator, Rock Gullickson as strength and conditioning coach, Brendan Daly as defensive line coach and Matt House for defensive quality control. Croom became the first black head coach in Southeastern Conference history when he took over the Bulldogs in 2004.

Owner Jerry Richardson was recovering after a heart transplant. The team issued a statement that said the 72-year-old Richardson underwent the overnight five-hour procedure at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. He had been on a heart transplant list since December. Team officials said Richardson was resting comfortably in the hospital's post-operative cardiovascular recovery unit.