Greetings from Safeco Field, I just got a call from rather upset Eric Williams, who hasn't been able to post the Deon Butler signing.

We got the email from the Hawks earlier in the day, but Eric, who's timing rivals that of Wally Pipp, is in eastern Washington on a little vacation with the family before training camp begins and his family life is over. He happened to be away from his computer. So he kindly asked me to post it.

Here's the press release:

The Seattle Seahawks have signed wide receiver Deon Butler to a multi-year deal, the team announced this morning.

Butler was Seattle’s third round selection (91st overall) in this past April’s NFL Draft out of Penn State. Butler closed out his college career as the school’s all-time leader with 179 receptions, finished second with 2,771 receiving yards and third with 22 touchdowns.

Butler is the fifth Seahawks draft pick to sign with the club.

That leaves first-round Aaron Curry and second-rounder Max Unger unsigned.

The Seahawks announced today the training camp, practice dates that will be open to the public, from Aug. 3 to Aug. 20. The team will use The Landing, a mixed-use facility next to Boeing in Renton, as a staging area for parking. Fans will have to pay $5 to park there and will be provided transportation to the team's facility.

Anyone interested in attending practice can register beginning July 16 at 10 a.m. at Seahawks.com.

The Seahawks also will have two free practices at the University of Washington on Aug. 7 and Aug. 18. The public will have to pay for parking at UW. For more info check out the press release below.

=> Read more!

Seahawks fullback Owen Schmitt was arrested last weekend by Black Diamond police for investigation of drunken driving.

According to a report, Schmitt's blood alchohol level was twice the legal limit. In Washington, that's .08.

“I sincerely apologize to the team, the NFL, the fans and my family and friends for my actions and my poor judgment,” Schmitt said in written statement released by the Seahawks.

“I fully understand the seriousness of this matter, and I am disappointed in myself. I am committed to earning back the trust of everyone affected.”

We will update this with more details after Eric gets the police report.

Here's the press release sent out by the Black Diamond PD:

On 6/20/09, the Black Diamond Police Department arrested Owen Schmitt on suspicion of driving under the influence after an officer observed him weaving on the roadway and following too close. After initiating a traffic stop on the vehicle, the officer noticed several signs of intoxication including the smell of alcohol. After failing field sobriety tests, he was arrested and processed for driving under the influence. Schmitt's breath alcohol results were over the .08 legal limit.

The Seahawks will be at Fort Lewis on Thursday to visit with troops and run obstacle courses. Check out more info here.

I’m home from the Arizona desert and getting back into the swing of things here in T-Town. So I thought I’d post some answers to your questions over the past couple weeks.

The Wash, Stevo and others want an update on the rehabilitation process of Walter Jones: The latest we’ve seen is Jones running wind sprints with trainers at the end of practice during organized team activities. Jones didn’t seem to favor his surgically repaired left knee during the workout, and appears to be on track to be ready for training camp.

=> Read more!

The Philadelphia Eagles draft Washington State receiver Brandon Gibson, and the Rogers High grad and Puyallup native becomes the first player from the state of Washington to get drafted.

The Eagles were one of about 10 teams who watched Gibson workout in Seattle.

The Eagles should be a good fit for Gibson. They need receiver help and he should get a chance to play.

Bring me your questions tomorrow. I'll host a live chat beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday. It will run for about an hour. We'll host it at the sports front page. Here's the link. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Eric just called me and he's away from his computer, but he asked me to post that free agent strong safety Jermaine Phillips is visiting Seattle, today, according to team sources.

Phillips was in San Diego yesterday visiting with the Chargers, who are looking to add depth for a beleaguered secondary.

Phillips, 30, has been riddled by injuries over his career after being selected by the Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2002 draft. Last season he suffered a pair of broken arms and started just 11 games.

Since the 2002 season, Phillips has appeared in all 16 games of season just twice (2003 and 2006)

From Eric Williams in Indianapolis:

The Seahawks today designated linebacker Leroy Hill with the organization's non-exclusive franchise tag. Hill will receive the $8.3-million, one-year tender offer from the Seahawks while negotiations continue on a longer-term deal.

The deadline for using the franchise tag was today.

The Seahawks are negotiating with Hill on a longer-term deal, and by designating him with the non-exclusive franchise tag, it gives the team a longer period for negotiations.

"We're not exactly close but it's been good-faith negotiations," team president and general manager Tim Ruskell said. "And this allows us to keep doing that, while protecting our rights to the player."

Eric will follow with more details later today.

Not to disagree with Eric, but I thought the officiating was poor, and the culmination of what was a season of poor officiating. And since he's flying back and can't update this, I figured I'd give you guys something else to chew on.

Anyway, we've been shown an incessant loop of James Harrison's 100-yard interception return for a touchdown. First of all it was a horrible decision by Kurt Warner, who stared down Anquan Boldin like a teenager would a playboy centerfold. He might as well have announced at the line of scrimmage that he was throwing it to Boldin.

Harrison also made a great play and a fantastic run, but was there some illegal help namely a clip by the Steelers Lamar Woodley, #56, on Arizona's Tim Hightower, #34, just before Harrison gets to the end zone. Well, here's the video and you decide.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are again Super Bowl champions, coming from behind to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23. It was a great game played by both teams, and ironically Pittsburgh's offense had to go down and score late in the game for the Steelers to earn the victory.

Pittsburgh's Santonio Holmes made some great play and probably earned some money for himself with his performance last night. His touchdown catch in the back of the end zone where he tiptoed the sideline was probably one of the best catches under pressure that I have seen. I'm heading down to the locker room and will have more later.

Many reporters in the press box are calling it the most amazing play in Super Bowl history.

Defensive MVP James Harrison jumped a slant route intended for Anquan Bolden and weaved his way 100 yards for a touchdown to put the Steelers up 17-7 on the final play of the half.

The play was reviewed upstairs because it looked like Larry Fitzgerald may have stopped him short of the goal line, but the play stood.

It was a huge momentum-swinging play and may have sealed Arizona's fate. The Cardinals were down 10-7 but looked like they would get a score and go into halftime up 14-10.

Fitzgerald basically ran a pick route to clear space for Boldin, but Harrison didn't rush the passer and slid back into coverage for the pick.

Arizona gets the ball back to begin the second half, so we'll see how they respond.