Buried somewhere beneath halftime show pyrotechnics, inches of Miami rain and hours of Super Bowl analysis was the most entertaining portion of the NFL’s big day: the latest tweak to its steroid policy.

It seems feather-fisted commissioner Roger Goodell and his equally benign partner, union chief Gene Upshaw, think banning players who violate the league’s substance abuse policy from the Pro Bowl is the next big step to restoring the integrity of the game.

That decision would be considered merely misguided if not for the justification that it would hurt players who receive incentives for playing in the Pro Bowl. That little caveat makes it as unintentionally comedic as the phrase “Rex Grossman: Super Bowl quarterback.”

The move is a response to the potential public relations quandary of having San Diego Chargers’ steroid suspendee Shawne Merriman playing in the league’s all-star game on Saturday.

The Pro Bowl’s relegation to the end of the NFL season, unlike the midseason All-Star contests in other leagues, makes it a marginal event at best.

“Nobody wants to play in a Pro Bowl,” Hall of Famer Troy Aikman told USA Today in 2005. “Everybody wants to be voted in. Everybody wants to be in Hawaii. But nobody wants to play.”

In other news, the Washington Redskins' defense might have tumbled from ninth to 31st in the NFL and Sean Taylor might have had a down year, but the highly publicized free safety will play in his first Pro Bowl on Sunday.

Taylor, the NFC's first alternate, was selected for Hawaii yesterday when the Philadelphia Eagles' Brian Dawkins withdrew because of personal reasons. The Redskins' top choice in the 2004 draft (fifth overall) was embroiled in controversy on and off the field during his first two seasons.

Taylor, who will become the first Redskins safety to play in a Pro Bowl since Mark Murphy in 1983, joins offensive tackle Chris Samuels, a four-time selection in Hawaii.