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MIAMI – Hobbled and humbled in the World Baseball Classic, Team USA is still swinging.

David Wright sliced a two-run single that capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday night, and the injury-plagued Americans qualified for this weekend’s semifinals with a 6-5 win over Puerto Rico.

Wright’s hit with one out eliminated Puerto Rico.

“That situation is what you dream about when you’re a kid,” he said.

The Americans advanced to the next round at Dodger Stadium. It was an especially sweet victory after Saturday’s humiliation against Puerto Rico that triggered the mercy rule when the Americans fell 10 runs behind, ending the game in the seventh inning.

“Getting a crack at a team that embarrassed us a few days earlier, to have the resiliency to bounce back in the ninth and steal one from them was pretty big,” Wright said.

This time the teams played a full nine, and the Americans saved their best for last in the 3-hour, 54-minute marathon.

“They kept on the heat, and they didn’t give up,” Puerto Rican manager Jose Oquendo said.

Trailing 5-3, Team USA began its rally when Shane Victorino and Brian Roberts singled to the start the ninth against J.C. Romero (1-1). Derek Jeter flied out, Roberts stole second and Jimmy Rollins walked on a 3-2 pitch.

“We just had to string them together, and we were able to do that,” Rollins said.

Fernando Cabrera came on to pitch, and he walked Kevin Youkilis to force in a run.

Wright then lined a 2-1 pitch just inside the right-field line, raising his fist when the ball dropped in. The New York Mets star called the hit the biggest of his career.

“You’re talking about representing the United States of America,” he said. “You’ve got that across the front of your chest. To be able to get that hit, that’s got to be right up there at the top of the list.”

Wright was mobbed by teammates near second base after two runs scored.

“You’re celebrating a game,” Youkilis said. “You’re celebrating a nation.”

The rally came after the Americans stranded seven runners in scoring position in the first eight innings.

The WBC has some marketing to do, as Tuesday’s modest crowd of 13,224 showed, and the tournament’s version of the Yankees provided a boost by making the final four for the first time.

“We’re taking this very seriously,” Wright said. “This isn’t an exhibition to us.”

Team USA will play Venezuela in Miami’s final game of round two Wednesday night to determine seedings for the semifinals.

The Americans will advance despite a recent wave of injuries that has sidelined infielders Dustin Pedroia and Chipper Jones and reliever Matt Lindstrom for the rest of the tournament. Left fielder Ryan Braun was also unavailable Tuesday with a sore right side, but he hopes to return this weekend.

Alex Rios homered and then singled home the go-ahead run in the sixth for the Puerto Ricans. They totaled only five hits, but three walks led to runs, and U.S. starter Ted Lilly gave up three runs on two homers.

Carlos Delgado hit a two-run homer for the Puerto Ricans, and they broke a 3-all tie in the sixth. Ivan Rodriguez led off with his third walk, took second on a surprise sacrifice by Carlos Beltran and scored on Rios’ single.

Ramon Vazquez singled home the Puerto Ricans’ final run in the ninth. Youkilis homered for Team USA.

“We were practically on the plane to Los Angeles,” Delgado said. “When you have an opportunity like this to bring a championship to Puerto Rico, it’s frustrating and emotional. But that’s baseball.”

Lilly gave up only two hits, but both were homers, and he departed after 3 1-3 innings with the score 3-all. Jonathan Broxton (1-0) earned the win despite allowing a run in the ninth, his lone inning.

Puerto Rican starter Jonathan Sanchez lasted only 2 2-3 innings. He allowed five hits and three runs.

Nifty baserunning by Wright put Team USA on the scoreboard in the second. He singled, stole second and took third on a single by Mark DeRosa. When Brian McCann flied out to left field, Wright tagged up and scored by eluding the catcher’s tag with a headfirst slide.

Victorino followed with a two-out RBI single to put the Americans ahead 2-1. Youkilis was 3-for-19 in the tournament before he homered with two out in the third, but Lilly failed to hold a 3-1 lead.

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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Jay Cutler was a no-show on Monday for coach Josh McDaniels’ first team meeting and the start of the Denver Broncos’ offseason workouts, and if he gets his way, he’ll never step foot in the team’s training facility again. “The Denver Broncos confirm that Jay Cutler has requested a trade,” team spokesman Jim Saccomano told The Associated Press on Monday.

ESPN first reported that Cutler, still upset that the Broncos tried to trade him for New England quarterback Matt Cassel last month, had asked for a trade through his agent, Bus Cook.

Cook, who was traveling, didn’t return phone calls to The AP. The Denver Post quoted McDaniels as saying he wanted to meet again with Cutler to try to resolve their differences before considering a trade.

Cutler told ESPN he would attend every mandatory minicamp and training camp but would skip the offseason training program, which won’t subject him to fines. Although it’s voluntary, the coaches expect everyone to attend the team’s offseason program.

The Broncos’ first minicamp is April 17-19, a week before the draft.

Cutler and McDaniels met face-to-face Saturday along with Cook and general manager Brian Xanders. Cutler was expecting a reconciliation, but the meeting didn’t go well from his standpoint, resulting in the trade request.

The Broncos have said they have no interest in trading their star quarterback, who set several team passing records last season and just played in his first Pro Bowl.

It’s looking increasingly likely, however, that trading Cutler might be the only way to resolve the dispute.

Cutler has been unhappy since learning that McDaniels, who was New England’s offensive coordinator the last three seasons, entertained the notion of trading him to Tampa Bay in a three-way swap that would have brought Cassel from the Patriots to Denver. New England instead traded Cassel to Kansas City.

Cutler believes McDaniels, who replaced Mike Shanahan in January, misled him about those trade talks.

McDaniels has said all he did was listen to the trade proposals, as he would with any player, as he tries to rebuild a Broncos team that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2005.

The Broncos have been the NFL’s most active team in free agency, signing 15 players, including quarterback Chris Simms, a former starter in Tampa Bay who has thrown just two passes since having emergency surgery to remove his spleen after a game in 2006.

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ATLANTA – Duke is back in a familiar position: champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The No. 9 Blue Devils swamped upstart Florida State with a barrage of 3-pointers on the way to a 79-69 victory in the title game Sunday, giving Duke its ninth ACC crown in 12 years.

Jon Scheyer scored 29 points, Gerald Henderson had 27 and the Blue Devils (28-6) turned in one of its most complete performances of the season to keep their Tobacco Road heirloom from heading down to the Sunshine State. It couldn’t have come at a better time, with NCAA bids going out later Sunday.

How complete? Duke had more steals (five) than turnovers (four), outrebounded the taller, bulkier Seminoles 35-34 and buried Florida State with a 12-of-25 showing from beyond the arc.

Toney Douglas led the No. 22 Seminoles (25-9) with 28 points but that wasn’t nearly enough to give the school its first ACC championship. Florida State will have to be content with knocking off top-ranked North Carolina in the semifinals and earning its first NCAA bid since 1998.

Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, following up his gold-medal triumph as coach of the U.S. Olympic team, captured the 11th conference championship of his career. Now he’ll turn his attention to the quest for a fourth national title.

The Blue Devils put this one away early. After Douglas hit a 3-pointer to give Florida State its final lead, 11-9, Duke ripped off 14 points in a row – all but two of them coming from long range.

Henderson worked off a pick and sank a 3-pointer, then Kyle Singler hit three straight treys to complete the run. He swished one out of the corner and came off a screen for a wide-open look from the top of the key that gave the Blue Devils a 23-11 lead.

Duke was up 35-21 at halftime, taking advantage of miserable shooting (5 of 23) by a Florida State team that had won two down-to-the wire games to get to the championship, but suddenly looked out of place.

Coming off a 73-70 upset of North Carolina, the Seminoles turned it over 13 times and only a late shooting blitz kept it from being a total blowout. Douglas was basically a one-man show, though Chris Singleton did chip in with 15 points.

Florida State made a brief spurt in the second half, closing the gap to 42-36 when Ryan Reid laid it in with just over 12 minutes remaining, prompting Duke to call a timeout.

But the Blue Devils, who shot more 3-pointers than any team in the ACC, turned to a familiar weapon to finish off the Seminoles. Scheyer hit a momentum-breaking 3, then got knocked to the court by Derwin Kitchen while putting up another shot beyond the arc. He sank all three free throws, stretching the lead back to 48-38.

From there, Duke pulled away. Singler came up with a steal, and Nolan Smith made a floater in the lane. After Duke snatched an offensive rebound, Henderson buried a 3 from the corner. Smith threaded a brilliant pass to Henderson for a dunk, Scheyer flipped in a no-look shot after turning his back to the basket on a drive, then Singler and Scheyer made back-to-back treys to give the Blue Devils their biggest lead, 65-43, with 6 1/2 minutes to go.

As an added bonus to winning an ACC title after North Carolina was sent packing, Duke pulled even with the Tar Heels for the most wins in ACC tournament history. Both schools have 84.

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AUSTIN, Texas – A.J. Abrams scored 18 of Texas’ final 20 points Saturday night, leading the Longhorns to a 73-68 upset of No. 2 Oklahoma, which had to play most of the game without leading scorer and rebounder Blake Griffin after he sustained a concussion in the first half.

Abrams scored 16 in a row in the final 8 minutes, hitting four 3-pointers, then capped off the scoring with two free throws with 4 seconds to play.

Griffin, the Big 12’s leading scorer and leading rebounder, played just 11 minutes and left for good with about four minutes left in the first half, finishing with two points and three rebounds. Griffin appeared to take a shot to the face when he tried to spin for a baseline shot.

Willie Warren scored 27 points to lead Oklahoma (25-2, 11-1 Big 12), which had won 13 in a row.

Abrams finished with 23 points and Damion James scored 16 for the Longhorns ( 18-8, 7-5).

Abrams started his run of consecutive points with a 3-pointer that put Texas up 56-50. He finished it with another 3 over two defenders to put the Longhorns up 69-65 with 1:17 to play.

After the Sooners cut the lead to one on Juan Patillo’s putback layup, Longhorns forward Dexter Pittman grabbed an offensive rebound before powering over three Sooners for the basket. Oklahoma’s Tony Crocker missed a 3-pointer to tie before Abrams drew a foul and made his two free throws.

Warren, the Big 12’s top scoring freshman, did his best to carry the Sooners on the court where he won a Texas state high school championship last season. He was 10 of 20 from the floor with six 3-pointers but it was clear the Sooners missed their leader Griffin.

Texas came in desperate for a win after losing four of their last six and the game quickly picked up the intensity and physical play of the Longhorns’ and Sooners’ football rivalry. Griffin knocked down the wispy Abrams just 10 seconds into the game to pick up his first foul.

Griffin soon picked up another foul and had already spent about 5 minutes of the half on the bench before he appeared to take a shot to the face from the 300-pound Pittman, who was guarding him near the basket.

Griffin went back to the bench and sat there with a cotton swap stuffed into his left nostril. At halftime, while his teammates ran off the court, Griffin staggered toward the locker room as a trainer held his right arm.

Warren had knocked down two 3s just before halftime and kept firing away in the second.

After Texas built a 41-29 lead early in the second, Oklahoma stormed back with a 14-0 run and led 43-41 on consecutive baskets by Patillo. Two more 3s by Warren put Oklahoma up 61-56 with 5 minutes to play. Even that came with some drama as Warren collapsed to the floor writhing in pain and trainers ran onto the court, apparantly to work out cramps in his left calf.

That’s when Abrams wrapped it up with the long shots of his own. His third 3 put Texas up 66-64, a lead the Longhorns wouldn’t give away.

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SAN FRANCISCO – Home run king Barry Bonds has pleaded not guilty to charges he lied to a grand jury investigating steroid use in sports.

The arraignment Thursday was the third time Bonds entered a plea in the case. He originally was indicted in November 2007, but the government revised the indictment twice to fix legal technicalities.

Bonds now faces 10 counts of making false statements to a grand jury, plus an additional obstruction of justice charge.

The case is expected to go to trial next month. If convicted, he faces a sentence between probation and two years in prison.

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ORLANDO, Fla. – All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson could miss the rest of the season for the Orlando Magic because of a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

An MRI exam revealed the injury Tuesday, the team announced.

Nelson will decide over the next week whether he will have surgery or attempt rehabilitation. If surgery is the option, his season is likely over. If he passes on the surgery, he’ll likely miss several weeks.

“At some point in time, he’s going to have to have surgery. That’s a given. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it,” Magic general manager Otis Smith said Tuesday.

Nelson left the Magic’s 105-95 loss to the Mavericks on Monday night in the third quarter after he was fouled by Dallas center Erick Dampier and hit the floor. Nelson came up bent over and clutching his right shoulder before heading to the locker room in pain.

The injury leaves the Southeast division-leading Magic (36-11) with a major hole.

Orlando does not have a third point guard behind backup Anthony Johnson. The Magic likely will have to sign another point guard, or convert shooting guards J.J. Redick and Courtney Lee.

Smith said he had “zero” regrets about not signing an extra point guard earlier. Now, he’s hoping to fill the gap by signing a free agent.

“I don’t think anything’s off the table,” Smith said. “We’re actively pursuing (a deal), and have been since last night.”

Nelson was having a career season, averaging 16.7 points and 5.4 assists per game. He was selected to his first All-Star Game and was to compete in the skills challenge Feb. 14 in Phoenix.

The Magic host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.

“It’s a big blow for us,” center Dwight Howard said after Monday night’s loss. “I’m trying not to even think about it because he had been playing so well for us. It’s a sad day for us all.”

Nelson missed five games earlier this season with a right hip injury, and Orlando managed to go 4-1 behind Johnson.

A longer stretch against significantly better competition will provide a tougher test.

“We’ve done it before so we’ll do whatever we have to do,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.

If the Magic can take any comfort in the loss, it’s that they have time to regroup before the playoffs.

Orlando has a stranglehold on the Southeast division, beginning Tuesday with a nine-game lead over Atlanta. The Magic were three games behind Boston for the NBA’s best record.

Still, Orlando’s hopes for locking up home-court advantage in the East took a major hit.

“We don’t change expectations at all,” Lee said. “We can’t say that we’re losing because Jameer is out. We all have to step it up so that there’s no drop off.”

(This version CORRECTS to Redick)

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – Olympic superstar Michael Phelps could face criminal charges as part of the fallout from a photo that surfaced showing the swimmer smoking from a marijuana pipe at a University of South Carolina house party.

A spokesman for Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, who is known for his tough stance on drugs, said Tuesday the department was investigating.

“Our narcotics division is reviewing the information that we have, and they’re investigating what charges, if any, will be filed,” said Lt. Chris Cowan, a spokesman for agency.

The photo first shown in British tabloid News of the World on Sunday was snapped during a November party while Phelps was visiting the university, according to the paper.

Phelps, 23, and his team have not disputed the photo’s accuracy. Phelps has issued a public apology, acknowledging “regrettable” behavior and “bad judgment” after the photo appeared.

One of Phelps’ agents, Drew Johnson, said Tuesday authorities had not contacted the swimmer. “So we really can’t speculate,” he said.

Last fall, Phelps was introduced to large applause at South Carolina’s football game with Arkansas. He met with players and visited with Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier, who gave Phelps one of the ball coach’s trademark visors.

Phelps also spoke at a university class on sports’ role in society.

Where exactly the party occurred isn’t clear. The university said its police have no evidence it was on campus, and city police said they won’t pursue criminal charges unless more information comes forward.

The Richland County sheriff can pursue charges as long as the party was in the county, the spokesman said.

“The bottom line is, if he broke the law, and he did it in Richland County, he’s going to be charged,” Cowan said. “And there’s no difference between Michael Phelps and several other people that we arrest for the same type of a charge everyday.”

Under South Carolina law, possession of one ounce or less of marijuana is a misdemeanor that carries a fine up to $200 and 30 days in jail for the first offense. Possession of paraphernalia is a $500 fine.

The Richland County sheriff has long sought to fight drug crimes. He rose from patrol officer to captain of the narcotics division in the early 1990s, after the television series “Miami Vice” made its splash.

Lott played the part well. He wore stylish suits and had long hair then. He drove a Porsche seized from a drug dealer and even worked undercover with federal agents in Florida.

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PITTSBURGH – Thousands of Pittsburgh Steelers fans lined downtown streets Tuesday cheering and twirling Terrible Towels in preparation for a noon parade to celebrate the Pittsburgh Steelers’ victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the sixth for the storied franchise.

Police and city officials were preparing for as many as 250,000 fans, an estimate based on the number of fans at the 2006 parade celebrating the team’s victory in Super Bowl XL. Many fans showed up hours before Tuesday’s parade, including a handful of hardy souls who were spotted along the route before dawn.

Shawn Sedonis, 40, and his son, Garrett, 8, arrived about 8:30 a.m. Garrett was holding a cardboard sign saying, “Sorry Teach, I Have Sixburgh Fever” – to explain his absence from Buffalo Elementary School in the suburb of Sarver.

“I was here for the last parade and this is his first parade,” the bearded Shawn Sedonis said, while decked out in a black-and-gold jester hat, game jersey and other team colored items. “The last time they expected 40,000 people and there were 40,000 people here by 10 o’clock. So we came early.”

The parade was planned along Grant Street and Boulevard of the Allies, two of the widest streets downtown, instead of a narrower route used for most city parades. About 150 police were on hand to control the crowd and barricades were set up in the streets because the sidewalks were not wide enough to accommodate the overflow.

A huge black and gold banner hung in front of the City-County building, reading “Welcome to Steelers Country Super Bowl XLIII Champions.” The City County voted to symbolically change this city’s name to Sixburgh for the day.

Down the street in front of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, a dinosaur statue held a Super Bowl trophy in one hand and red feathers protruding from its mouth, what was left from its “cardinal snacks.”

Die-hard fans like 42-year-old Becky Kimball drove up from Baltimore just to help celebrate the big win.

“We’re here to tell you us Baltimore girls love Hines Ward,” Kimball said, flanked by daughters Karlie, 12, and Elizabeth, 9.

Teresa Nestor, 47, came downtown after getting only three hours of sleep. She had been in Tampa for the Super Bowl, then drove home and arrived at her house in Uniontown at 3 a.m. Tuesday. After a quick rest, she made the 50-mile drive north to Pittsburgh for a spot near the reviewing stand at the end of the parade route.

“This takes precedence over everything that’s ever happened in my life, this win,” Nestor said.

Erin DelGreco, 34, of Hopewell Township, and her friend, Chad McGown, 31, of Monaca, left their twin suburbs about 20 miles northwest of the city about 6 a.m. and claimed spots along the parade route about 7 a.m.

“Where else in the world does this kind of stuff happen?” DelGreco said about 9:30 a.m. “Look at all the people already hear and we’ve still got 2 1/2 to 3 hours to go.”

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MELBOURNE, Australia – Roger Federer had nowhere to hide.

Rod Laver was about to present the cup to Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal. Federer stood on the court, having just missed his first chance to equal Pete Sampras’ record 14 Grand Slam singles titles.

He was sobbing. He couldn’t speak.

“In the first moment you’re disappointed, you’re shocked, you’re sad, then all of a sudden it overwhelms you,” Federer finally said, referring to his 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2 loss to Nadal in a momentum-swinging, 4-hour, 22-minute title match Sunday night.

“The problem is you can’t go in the locker room and just take it easy and take a cold shower. You’re stuck out there. It’s the worst feeling. … It’s rough.”

Nadal, the first Spanish man to win the Australian Open, beat Federer in Grand Slam finals on clay and grass last year. He added the missing link Sunday with his first major title on hard courts.

The 22-year-old Spaniard is 5-2 against Federer in championship matches at the majors – 3-0 in the last three – and 13-6 in career meetings. The most riveting was Nadal’s five-set, 4-hour, 48-minute win over Federer at Wimbledon last year, ending the Swiss star’s five-year reign on grass.

Now, 40 years after Rod Laver last won the Grand Slam – all four majors in one season – Nadal is the only man who can emulate him in 2009.

Federer had been the most likely of the recent contenders, missing by one in 2006 and 2007 – losing to Nadal at Roland Garros both years. Clay remains his obstacle. And the French Open was the only major missing in Sampras’ career.

“God, it’s killing me,” Federer said, crying, as he tried at first to accept the runner-up plate. He returned to congratulate Nadal within minutes, saying: “You deserved it. You played a fantastic final.”

After collecting the trophy from Laver, on the court named for the Australian great, Nadal put his arm around Federer.

“To receive this trophy from Rod Laver is a dream for me,” he said. “Rod, thanks very much. It was an amazing two weeks for me.”

Nadal seemed pained by Federer’s anguish.

“Roger, sorry for today. I really know how you feel right now,” Nadal said. “Remember, you’re a great champion, you’re one of the best in history. You’re going to improve on the 14 of Sampras.”

Nadal was in the final of a major on hard courts for the first time, having been knocked out in the semifinals of the Australian and U.S. Opens last year.

Even this time, he had to struggle to make the last weekend. He held off a fellow Spanish left-hander in Fernando Verdasco on Friday in 5 hours, 14 minutes – the longest match in the tournament’s history.

Federer went into the final on straight sets wins over No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro and No. 7 Andy Roddick after having to rally from two sets down to beat Tomas Berdych in the fourth round.

Nadal ranked this title high on his list of six majors.

“Very special, for me,” he said. “A dream win here, one Grand Slam on hard court. I worked very hard … all my life” to improve “outside of clay. Today was really lot of emotions on court. I was there with the best player I ever saw.”

Nadal said he’d be trying to break the record for most major titles, whoever holds it. He said he knows how tough it is to win every one.

“You have to be humble,” he said.

Federer, for his part, hasn’t given up on beating the Sampras record or of beating Nadal, on any surface.

“For sure,” he said. “I didn’t spend 4 1/2 hours out there (not) believing it.”

Federer was struggling with mononucleosis in Australia last year and was knocked out by eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. He was hampered early in the season, but turned it around with a title at the U.S. Open.

Facing the No. 1 player for the first time in a major final – he held the top ranking for 237 consecutive weeks and Nadal was knocked out in the semifinals in New York in September – he seemed to be playing catch-up after dropping his opening service game.

He saved two championship points from 15-40 in the eighth game of the fifth set but sent a forehand long on the third match point.

Nadal flopped onto his back, then got up and raced to shake hands. The players put their arms around each other’s shoulders at the net as they walked off the court.

Although Federer actually won one more point (174-173), his serve let him down all too frequently. He connected on only 51 percent of his first serves, and it seemed as if all his six double-faults came at critical times.

And as the pressure ratcheted up in the fifth set, it was Federer who wilted, not Nadal. Federer had six winners and 14 unforced errors in the set. Nadal had just two unforced errors and dropped only three points in four service games.

Federer converted only six of his 19 break-point chances; Nadal converted seven of 16.

It was the first Australian Open men’s final to go to five sets since Mats Wilander beat Pat Cash in 1988, the first at Melbourne.

Serena Williams had one of the shortest finals on the women’s side. She lifted her level in the final, routing Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3 to win her fourth Australian title, 10th major and regain the No. 1 ranking.

“I actually forgot until the end when I was saying hi to my box. They’re like, ‘Hey, you’re No. 1.’ I was like, ‘Oh, yeah,’” she said.

Not that a number means everything.

“I always believe I’m the best, whether I’m No. 1 or 100,” she said. “Just having that extra bonus is pretty cool.”

After Melbourne’s hottest three-day heat wave on record, conditions were a relatively mild 79 degrees for the weekend night finals.

Williams also won the doubles with sister Venus in a doubles double for American families. Twins Bob and Mike Bryan won the men’s doubles and regained the No. 1 ranking.

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NEW YORK – Andy Pettitte’s only thought was to stay with the New York Yankees. He had no interest in returning to his hometown Houston Astros.

Still, the 36-year-old left-hander was bothered when the Yankees wanted to cut his salary from $16 million to $10 million.

“Heck, the bottom line is I’m a man, and I guess it does take a shot at your pride a little bit,” he said. “But when you put all that aside, I wanted to play for the New York Yankees and, you know, that was the bottom line. I wanted to be there. I wanted to play in that new stadium.”

After months of stalled negotiations, Pettitte and the Yankees agreed Monday to a $5.5 million, one-year contract. While the guaranteed money is less than half New York’s original $10 million offer, he can make an additional $6.5 million in bonuses: $4.5 million based on innings and $2 million based on days on the active roster.

“If in fact Andy does in 2009 what he’s done before, he’ll actually make more money, so in that case we would have no regrets,” said the pitcher’s agent, Randy Hendricks. “If things would go wrong, we might be in position to say maybe we should have taken the left fork in the road instead of the right fork in the road. But that is, as Andy said, part of life and part of negotiations.”

New York withdrew its first offer in December after agreeing to a $180 million, eight-year deal with first baseman Mark Teixeira, a contract that, combined with agreements for pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, raised the Yankees’ spending spree to $423.5 million for three players.

Pettitte met in Texas with general manager Brian Cashman on Dec. 11 and told him he would be willing to accept performance bonuses. The sides kept on talking.

“It just got to the point where Randy called me and said, `I think this is it, buddy,’” Pettitte said. “It didn’t take me long to decide because I knew that was where I was going to play.”

Pettitte might have been able to get a multiyear deal from another club.

“I could have made an awful lot more money than what I signed for,” he said.

He joins a starting rotation that already includes Sabathia, Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain. Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Phil Coke are available in the event of injuries or if Chamberlain shifts back to the bullpen.

“He’s going to be someone a lot of these guys on the block can lean on,” Cashman said.

The deal raised the Yankees’ projected opening-day payroll to $196.8 million for 17 players with agreements. That doesn’t include reliever Brian Bruney, who is in arbitration and will make between $1.1 million and $1.55 million.

“It was a great offseason. We should have the best rotation in baseball and, hopefully, the bullpen will do as well as it did last year,” Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner said. “We also have a terrific lineup.”

Steinbrenner ruled out any attempt to sign Manny Ramirez.

“We’re out of it,” he said.

Pettitte pitched for the Yankees from 1995-2003, helping them win four World Series titles, then spent three seasons with Houston. He returned to the Yankees in 2007 and was 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA last season, his highest ERA since 1999.

Pitching with a sore shoulder, he was 2-7 with a 6.23 ERA in his final 11 starts, beating Baltimore in the last game at old Yankee Stadium on Sept. 21.

Cashman doesn’t anticipate any more significant moves for the Yankees during the offseason. He also doesn’t think the increased spending creates more pressure on himself and manager Joe Girardi.

“I feel the heat. I’ve always felt the heat. I’ve never not felt the heat,” Cashman said. “Do I think it’s any hotter now than it was before? No. But do I feel it every day? Yeah, I do.”

Notes:@ Cashman is paying special attention to closer Mariano Rivera and C Jorge Posada, both coming off shoulder surgery. Posada was in New York on Monday for a checkup. “We will definitely go into spring training and as we enter the ‘09 season with concerns about the health of two extremely important positions on any team that wants to get to the promised land,” Cashman said.

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