We've had our issues with the owners of the Arizona Cardinals. Mostly because Bill and Michael Bidwill fielded such lousy teams over the years. They ran the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Football League, a team that hadn't won a championship since they were the Chicago Cardinals in 1947, and hadn't made the playoffs since 1982 as the St. Louis Cardinals.

Yada, yada, they sucked. But why did they suck? Well, the answer was always the Bidwills, who were seemingly too tight-fisted to compete in the cash-happy modern NFL. There were bad drafts, bad trades; a low bottom line always seemed to be what the Bidwills relished. Over a winning season, much less making the playoffs or going to the Super Bowl. Daddy Bill always complained about having to play so long at ASU's Sun Devil Stadium, complaining that certain locals hadn't made good on a promise to build a stadium for his team.

Well, finally a new stadium was built in Glendale and, damn, if son Michael didn't hire a viable new coach a couple of seasons ago and start fielding a competitive team. Nobody can say the Bidwills are cheap anymore. Not after making starting quarterback Kurt Warner happy in the off-season with a $23 million, two-year contract; not after signing backup QB Matt Leinart in 2006 to a $51 million, six-year deal; not after giving star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald a $40 million contract renewal after the '07 season; not after signing former Ohio State running back Beanie Wells to a five-year, $11.8 million rookie deal recently.

But, most importantly, the Bidwills had smarts enough to bring in Ken Whisenhunt, the former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, as head coach. He was a bargain at $2.5 million a year, considering that it's Whisenhunt who makes the Cardinals go. He's a coach who makes players believe and backed it up with an 8-8 season and a Super Bowl berth.

And, hey, the Cardinals not only competed in the Super Bowl but damn near won it against Whisenhunt's old team, the Steelers. And we have no reason to believe that the Cards can't do it again with Whisenhunt in charge (we know, we know — Super Bowl losers historically don't do well the next season, but the others didn't have The Whiz). Fact is, the Bidwills, with Whisenhunt's direction, have put together an even better roster than last year's. Now that they've opened up their wallets and given us a contender, we must give Bill and Michael Bidwell their due as the best owners in this desperate-for-a-winner desert.