These days Hines Ward is recognized more for being a current Steeler, than a former Bulldog, but that's alright, he still gets much love from his Georgia faithful and I am sure there were many red and black fans cheering him on last night when he took home the trophy for winning the popular dance competition 'Dancing With The Stars'.
Hines, along with dance partner, Kym, did the Samba in the finale and beat out Kirstie Alley and her partner for the coveted mirror-ball trophy.
I admit that I haven't watched the competition this season, but I was happy to hear about Hines this morning as I felt from the beginning that he had a great shot—his outgoing personality is something that the cameras love.
So, when the LAPD ran a routine license plate check on the Civic, and found that it was reported stolen, they pulled the car over, handcuffed the occupants, and began the process of sorting out this weird mess.
Luckily, nothing came of it, as the story of the young woman checked out just as she stated it (apparently she thought her car was stolen after she used the valet service somewhere in L.A.) and the affable Ward, as only he can, laughed it off as no big deal.
The real question is, what on earth was Ward doing riding around in a Honda Civic at 2 AM?
I'm sure it was nothing, but the story is definitely an odd one.
It is being reported that Hines Ward has signed on to be in the next installment of 'Dancing With The Stars', or DWTS. You know that show that keeps punishing us with people who can't dance all that well, but have great personalities?
Yeah, that one...the one that dared give us "The Situation" (should've been canceled for that decision alone) and a really bad Buzz Aldrin—whose walk on the moon clearly didn't make him any lighter on his feet—ay, yi, yi.
Well, if Hines Ward is going to showcase some of his fancy footwork on the world's stage, perhaps we should have a preview of what we are in for...check out Ward showing off some of his dance moves below:
One thing is certain, the man has rhythm.
While I seriously doubt the 'Electric Slide' gets much play on DWTS, Ward gets a 10 in my book for execution, style, and overall ability to not look like a total tool on camera.
I may finally have a reason to watch that show this season...maybe.
That Antonio Cromartie sure likes to talk doesn't he? It seems, lately, that he hasn't met a microphone or a camera that he doesn't like and he's already putting some more good vibrations out about the Pittsburgh Steelers' Hines Ward—calling him out for, basically, being a cheap shot artist.
Apparently, when Cromartie appeared on SportsNet New York today, he had this to say about Ward, "I know for a fact that he will hit you while you’re not looking", and if that wasn't enough, he also made sure to throw in the fact that he didn't feel Ward was "man enough" to hit a guy while he's looking.
Antonio, Antonio, Antonio, don't you know better than to go talking this kind of trash less than 48-hours from entering Heinz Field—which, let's face it, is really just Hines' field—it's just bad business.
We'll all see soon enough if Mr. Ward has any trepidation about hitting a guy when he's looking, despite his reputation, Hines is as tough as they come in the NFL, and he won't take too kindly to all this yammering about him not being man enough.
On the other hand, knowing Ward, he's probably smiling about the whole thing.
Lists are like opinions—any and everyone is capable of forming one. This list is no exception.
Compiled by a website named complex.com, it names the '50 Dirtiest Players in Sports History' and gives a brief video to go along with each guy named. Some of the offenders named were Hines Ward (28), Kobe Bryant (45), and Alex Rodriguez (21). Hell, they even throw in a couple of NASCAR guys just to cover every sport—both Carl Edwards (48) and Kyle Busch (38) made the cut.
Below are the videos that made the first three infamous but you'll have to check out the others here.
Kobe Bryant:
"The NBA has two types of dirty players: 1. openly aggressive ones, and 2. those who pull cheap plays when the refs aren't looking. As seen in the video, Bryant's a member of the latter group..."
Hines Ward:
"Considered one of the most aggressive offensive players in league history, Ward was voted the league's dirtiest player by his peers last season. This block on Keith Rivers' broke the linebacker's jaw; the NFL banned similar hits the following season..."
Alex Rodriguez:
"...A-Rod's used all avenues to get ahead in the MLB. But for the purposes of this list, we're focusing on his bush-league play on the field. Prominent examples are his batty-man swipe on Bronson Arroyo in the 2004 ALCS and his shout at a Blue Jays third baseman while rounding the bases, causing him to drop a pop fly..."
There is no denying A.J. Green is a phenomenal wide receiver. At 6'4", 210-plus pounds, he's a hard target to miss on the football field.
He's not the quickest off the blocks, nor is he the fastest man on the field, but his ability to control his body, in the air, and make plays on any ball within three-feet of his reach, makes him a special player to have.
Furthermore, his lanky frame belies his overall strength because one would think he could be contained by bigger, more physical, defensive backs.
However, whether double or triple-covered, he always manages to win the jump ball battle—despite any size advantage on the opposition's part.
He uses his hands extremely well when battling for position and he excels at making the most difficult catches look elementary.
All things considered, it's easy for any Georgia Bulldog fan to say that Green is probably one of the best receivers Georgia has ever had—and that is saying a lot considering the Bulldogs history books house the SEC's All-Time Leading receiver in Terrence Edwards.
So, in just his junior season, where exactly does Green rate amongst the all-time greats who've played at Georgia?
1. Pass Receptions—Career
Terrence Edwards—the SEC's all-time receiving leader, who also wore the No. 8 that is now more famously associated with A.J. Green—caught 204 receptions in his career. Green, to date, has 122. Given the fact that Green might forgo his senior season for the riches of the NFL (he's a projected top 10 pick), Edwards' appears safe.
That said, both Fred Gibson (161 ) and Mohammed Massaquoi (158) totals are well within Green's reach and it's possible that he enters the all-time list at third before the close of the 2009 season. Brice Hunter is second all-time with 182.
2. Yards Receiving—Career
Terrence Edwards also holds this record—not only at Georgia, but in the SEC—as he accumulated 3,093 receiving yards at Georgia.
Fred Gibson ended his career trailing closely behind Edwards with 2,883 yards (imagine what Gibson could have done if he had been blessed with Green or Edwards' work ethic—hmmm). At present, Green's total rests at 1,986 yards. He needs only 112 more yards to surpass Lindsay Scott (5th), 296 to pass Mohammed Massaquoi (4th), and 387 more to overtake Brice Hunter at third—all very possible this year.
3. Average Gain Per Reception—Career.
The great Gene Washington, who is most remembered for his part in the Bulldogs 1975 victory over the Florida Gators (Appleby-to-Washington) averaged 24.6 yards per reception over the span of his four-year career at Georgia.
A.J. Green is currently averaging 16.33 yards per catch for his career—including games played this season. It doesn't seem likely that he will catch up to Washington, Bobby Watson (20.7), or Rex Puntal (20.5) before he ends his career at Georgia.
4. Touchdown Receptions—Career
Terrence Edwards leads the way with 30. It's amazing that Edwards was so dominant during his time, but most of this generation are not likely to ever associate the No. 8 with him again—sad.
Green has 17 career touchdowns entering his third game of the 2010 season. Given the propensity of Aaron Murray to look for Green first, in the redzone, it seems feasible to believe Green will add 6-7 more grabs to that count. If he does, he will easily slide into 2nd place behind Terrence Edwards with a chance to surpass him altogether if he returns for his senior season.
Points to Consider:
The legend of A.J. Green at Georgia, and around the country, hinges more on his skills than his production. While no one can deny he's an absolute beast on the football field, he has been limited in what he can do by several factors:
1) The offense: Georgia is still geared towards the run. The Bulldogs have only one wide receiver in the last 60 years who has tallied a 1,000 yard season—Terrence Edwards did so in 2002 (1,004).
2) The quarterback: Green had the good fortune of playing with Matthew Stafford in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, but his past two years have been somewhat hampered by inexperience at the quarterback spot, coupled with poor offensive play calling by his still-green offensive coordinator.
3) No offensive support: Terrence Edwards had Reggie Brown and Fred Gibson. Lindsay Scott had Herschel Walker). Gene Washington had Richard Appleby. Brice Hunter had Andre Hastings and Hines Ward. Who has A.J. Green had?
Mohammed Massaquoi played for one season after the arrival of A.J. Green and, in that season, Green set records by catching 56 passes for 963 yards and 8 touchdowns. Imagine what he might have been able to do his sophomore season with a decent number two receiver to take some of the burden off of him.
Conclusion:
While Green may never surpass the numbers that some of his counterparts have accumulated at Georgia, he's certainly done more with less than any player one can recall in recent memory. He's great for all the things you cannot find on a stat sheet, and that is why he is held in such high regard by both the fans and the coaches.
He's special and everyone knows that when they see him step on the football field—numbers be damned.
The Sporting News has published the full Nick Saban interview in which he discusses his plans for the future and whether or not he thinks Alabama can go undefeated in the SEC again in 2010.
The Atlanta Falcons Michael Turner was too big for his britches last season. He admits he was a step slower and the weight, although not a factor, didn't help much in his struggles to get to 1,000 yards last season.
The NCAA has invited 20 coaches to it's 2010 Expert Academy. The program is meant to assist coaches in career advancement through mentoring, networking, and exposure opportunities. Some of this year's invitees include Duke associate head coach, Ronald Middleton and Miami (OH) assistant football coach, Kijuan Ware.
2010 Trojan commit, Seantrel Henderson, is back to his drama queen ways again. Seriously, why does anyone want this kid anymore? He's becoming more of a head case by the day and his father is obviously enjoying all the attention too.
The Lingerie Football League is reason numero uno why women can't get any respect from football players as professional journalists. I cannot begin to tell you how offended I am by the venture—please.
