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PHOENIX - Draped from the side of the Hyatt Regency Hotel next to the Phoenix Convention Center are two banners of an estimated five to six stories in height, one of Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady, and the other of New York Giants' defensive end Michael Strahan.

The Brady banner does not show his taped-up right ankle, which was all the rage Monday as the Patriots practiced for the first time at Arizona State University in Tempe, continuing their preparation for Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants on Sunday.

According to Pro Football Writers of America pool reporter Dan Pompei, Brady appeared to have "a slight limp" as he participated in all phases of the practice at Sun Devil Stadium.

Brady suffered a high ankle sprain during the AFC Championship Game against San Diego, and missed two days of practice last week in Foxboro. He was heavily taped but participated "in all phases" of the one-hour, 40-minute practice, Pompei said, including running the length of the field twice at the end of drills.

The Patriots practiced in shorts and lightweight "shell" pads after going through two full-pads practices last week in Foxboro. Brady was not made available to the media after the practice. Patriots' coach Bill Belichick said during his press conference that "(Brady) was out there along with everybody else."

Happy man

Belichick expressed happiness over the facilities the Patriots have for Super Bowl Week, both at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in Scottsdale and at Arizona State, where the Patriots last played in the second week of the 2004 season.

"It's good to be out in the warm sunshine in Arizona," he said, noting that sunshine and 70-degree temperatures replaced torrential rains that were falling upon their arrival Sunday. "It's obvious (the organizing committee) put a lot of work in to this event, and so far it seems to be going really smoothly."

Holovak remembered

Belichick offered words of sympathy to the family of former Patriots' coach Mike Holovak, who died Sunday at the age of 88. Holovak spent nearly eight seasons as the head coach of the Boston Patriots (1961-68) and led the franchise to its first championship game appearance following the 1963 season.

"I had known Mike for a long time, most recently when he was with Houston and Tennessee," Belichick said. "Mike had a strong impact on the game, both as a coach and as a general manager and as an executive in the league for a long time. He was well respected and well thought of, and one of the guys I looked up to and admired as I was growing up."

Quick kicks

A montage of photographs of past Super Bowls graces the background for the main stage in the main ballroom of the Convention Center, where the Patriots' players conducted press conferences Monday. One of the more prominent photos is one of Foxboro High School graduate Tom Nalen, blocking for John Elway as he scored a touchdown against Atlanta in Super Bowl XXXIII, a 34-19 Denver win Junior Seau doesn't always put the past behind him, because he knows he's played in 181 games since his last Super Bowl appearance (Super Bowl XXIX, a 49-26 loss to San Francisco). "The game I played against the 49ers was a basically a game that we were overmatched," he said. Ty Warren reminded writers at his press conference that the memory of Marquise Hill, the defensive lineman who died in a personal watercraft accident in New Orleans over the Memorial Day weekend, still motivates the Patriots. "I think everybody in that locker room is not only playing for themselves, or their family or this organization, but I think a lot of them are playing for Marquise," Warren said. "When you feel like you can't make it through the day, you just look over at that locker, and that's motivation."

The Patriots have kept Hill's locker as it was at the end of last season.