Steelers WR Ward wants to retire as a Steeler

At age 34, the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward has been playing with the team for 12 seasons and is ready to entering his 13th season. During a recent interview, he made it clear that he would play with the Steelers for as long as he could. If he retires, he would only like to retire as a Steeler.

Ward is now working hard to prepare for his 13th NFL season. He is on a strict diet and workout program, which includes time spent in a hyperbaric chamber. By so far, he is feeling good with his conditioning and is confident that the Steelers will have a much better season this year, although the team will have to start the new season with a less experienced starting quarterback than Ben Roethlisberger, who is suspended for the first six games of 2010 NFL season because of inappropriate off field behaviors.

Ward’s favorite player, however, is a former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, and he was often seen in a No. 88 Michael Irvin jersey when not with the Steelers. Ward used to say that he admires Irvin for the Hall of Famer’s greatness in football and life-long loyalty to his former team, and Ward would like to follow Irvin’s example to stay with the Steelers till the least second of his NFL career.

Steelers WR Ward apologized for questioning Roethlisberger’s toughness

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger worked out without problem and seemed to be fine enough for playing Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders. So wide receiver had to apologize for his earlier remarks that indicated doubt on the quarterback’s toughness. He did it on Tuesday.

Ward said he spoke emotionally without knowing a team doctor recommended the quarterback not play Sunday because of a concussion. Actually Ward and his teammates didn’t learn until Saturday that Roethlisberger wouldn’t play as Big Ben had been practicing as the starter all last week. Ward explained that he was frustrated by the fact that Roethlisberger would not be out there to play with the team the game for them to stay in the playoff. He apologized as he would never have questioned a man’s toughness playing in a Steelers jersey.

“Now as a veteran guy on this team, you can see how upset that made a lot of us considering we were going down into the lions dens in Baltimore without our fearless leader,” Ward wrote in a post on his Face book page, making his comments public to avoid talking further about the subject.

Steelers WR Ward imagined Usain Bolt to be NFL player

What if the fastest man become an NFL player? After Usain Bolt set a new world record of 9.58 seconds in the 100-meter dash on Sunday, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward imagined such a possiblity.

“In this game, you have to have great hips and great footwork to get in and out of routes. You can take a fast guy like a Bolt, he might be able to run only one way,” Ward said Monday. “He has to stop and turn. For me, I’ll take a guy with quickness and great route-running ability over speed. But you can’t teach speed. I’d love to have his speed.”

In the days when track stars earned much less than what they can today, quite a few of them move from track to football. Among them are Hall of Fame wide receiver Bob Hayes, Willie Gault and Renaldo Nehemiah.

But for Bolt? It is not quite a workable idea. If he has no strong interest in football, there is no reason for him to give up the guaranteed millions he already makes and turns to football. But Ward's imagination was good. It is really exciting to think of a football player with Bolt's speed.