NEW YORK (AP) -Ben Roethlisberger has been cleared by the NFL to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers beginning next week, although no decision has been made on the length of his suspension.

The quarterback was suspended without pay for six games last month by commissioner Roger Goodell after a 20-year-old college student accused him of sexual assault in Milledgeville, Ga. No charges were filed.

Roethlisberger underwent a behavioral evaluation as part of the suspension, which could be reduced to four games by

``We've played some (frigid, wet December) games there and I know first-hand that the fans had great experiences even though it was in inclement weather,'' Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said.

Players are split on the decision.

In the Pittsburgh Steelers' locker room, quarterback Byron Leftwich said the weather doesn't matter ``because it's the Super Bowl ... and you're not going to let 15 degrees change anything.'' But linebacker James Farrior countered, ``I play enough games in the cold.''

Giant

IRVING, Texas (AP) -NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says he expects to decide within a week when Ben Roethlisberger can rejoin the Pittsburgh Steelers for offseason workouts.

Goodell said Tuesday at the owners meetings that he would soon review the behavioral evaluation he ordered as part of his six-game suspension of the Steelers quarterback under the league's conduct policy.

Goodell said he planned to sit down with his staff and ``determine the next step.''

The two-time Super Bowl winner was suspended fo

PITTSBURGH (AP) -The competition to temporarily replace Ben Roethlisberger as the Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback is becoming a one-man race.

Byron Leftwich is handling nearly all of the first-team snaps in practice, a strong indicator he will be the starter while Roethlisberger serves his six-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin wants to go into training camp with what he calls a ``pecking order'' defined at quarterback. So far, that's Leftwich, follo

PITTSBURGH (AP) -Their $102 million quarterback isn't around now, and he won't play at least until October. The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in an unprecedented situation, preparing for a season that will open without their suspended star.

If that was their only problem, perhaps the Steelers' offseason wouldn't seem so hectic, unsettled or disrupted, but it's not. Not even close.

There are numerous unsettled issues on both sides of the ball as the Steelers go through a month's worth of spring practic

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) -New York Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes says a flight attendant might have singled him out last month because he was a former Pittsburgh Steelers player.

Holmes, speaking for the first time publicly about the incident, says Thursday he felt he was ``scrutinized just for who I am.''

He says the flight attendant was ``definitely trying to make a name for herself.''

Authorities at Pittsburgh International Airport filed an incident report after a flight attendant claimed Holmes fa

PITTSBURGH (AP) -These might be the most-scrutinized May practices in Pittsburgh Steelers history.

The team resumed its voluntary offseason workouts on Tuesday without suspended quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He remains banned from attending, and there is no indication when the NFL will allow him to participate.

Roethlisberger did join teammates at a charity golf tournament Monday in Canonsburg, Pa.

During Roethlisberger's absence Byron Leftwich, the backup when the Steelers won the Super Bowl 15 months

Mendenhall was signed in April and had no NFL experience a year after completing his college career at Illinois State. He's the older brother of Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall.

Mutcher, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Weber State, signed with Buffalo earlier this month.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report ma