Ravens LB Ray Lewis sat down with SI.com about his thoughts on the current lockout situation. Lewis thinks that the NFL and NFLPA meeting face to face is better than any other form of communication, otherwise you “lose steam” in getting a new deal done.

Lewis gets real preachy (what’s new) when talking about how the two sides should come together and settle their differences. But in speaking about his NFL peers, Lewis says that the players as well as other athletes, “are here for one thing. To make the world a better place. If we here to be the role models for these kids then give us the opportunity to be the role model for them, that’s all every athlete is saying…….”

Ummmmmmmm………….

Ray, I know you mean well, but I don’t think athletes should be where kids look to as role models. It’s not that I don’t think there are tons of positive athletes out there. It’s the media perception that concerns me. The media likes to point out the negatives, especially with athletes. With the recent arrests of Hines Ward and Adam “Pacman” Jones, I’m not sure this is a bright idea.

I love Ray Lewis, but I think he truly believes he’s the NFL Players Ambassador (a lot of that has to do with the close relationships he has with so many players). It’s kinda hard to speak for everyone, especially when you know there are players who don’t give a damn about being a role model. I’m sure Aqib Talib doesn’t think he’s the best role model for children, and he’d be right. I understand you want to get back on the field and would use any reason to get there, though. But that’s a reach

Check out the video in it’s entirety

Okay, the title of my post is pretty harsh, but you have to admit it’s pretty fitting for the this morning’s news. Steelers WR Hines Ward was arrested early this morning by Georgia Police for driving under the influence.

According to ESPN, Ward was booked into the DeKalb County jail in suburban Atlanta at 3:41 a.m. and charged with driving under the influence. He was released on $1,300 bond.

Ward was the Super Bowl XL MVP and just recently won Dancing With The Stars.

TMZ.com has posted Ward’s arrest picture…. Hines isn’t smiling, and I don’t blame him this time:

I’m not really sure if this tarnishes anything, to be honest. Ward is entering his 14th season with the Steelers and is on the sunset end of his career. He has 2 Super Bowls under his belt plus the MVP honors. As much as I’d like to crack a few Ward jokes at his expense, I can’t because I don’t think this will be relevant in about 2 months. What I am interested in, however, is how the Rooney family handles this sitcho. They tend to be a stickler when it comes to their players and behavior (except for that one guy….. you know who……rhymes with Jig Jen)

The way players are going, the NFL may not have available players by the time they end the lockout. They need to get a deal done SOON!

Steelers WR Hines Ward made his dancing debut last night on ABC’s season premiere of Dancing With The Stars. Ward and his partner Kym Johnson did the Cha Cha dance. While their practice looked a little rough, Ward did a good job when the lights came on. The Ravens fan in me wanted him to fall flat, but I had to remind myself that football season was over and I gave him props on his hard work paying off (minus that outfit. Memo to Hines: No more suspenders, please!).

Ward had the support of his organization there as well. Former Steelers greats Franco Harris, Jerome Bettis and Mel Blount came for support, as well as his mom. I think it’s safe to say that Ward will be back on the show next week.

Also on the show are talk show host Wendy Williams, former WWE wrestler Chris Jericho and former No Limit artist Romeo, among others.

No I didn’t make that up and yes you read the right name. It seems the AFC North is full of twinkle toes these days. First, it was Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco joining the popular dance show. Now the Steelers smiling WR has decided to join the show as well.

Ward, 35, joins a plethora of other football players (current and former) who have graced the stage. But he becomes the 2nd AFC North player in as many years. ESPN and AFC North blogger James Walker has his reservations on Ward’s decision:

Similar to Ochocinco, participating on the spring reality show will take time away from Ward’s offseason schedule. Ochocinco had two reality television shows last year, missed all voluntary workouts and had a down year, catching just 67 passes for 831 yards and four touchdowns.

Ward will turn 35 on March 8 and his numbers were also down last season. He caught 59 passes for 755 yards and five touchdowns for the reigning AFC champions.

Walker also says that this move is very un-Steeler-like… and I happen to agree with him. Not to mention, Ward is probably the last person I’d expect to join this show. One can ask whether this interferes with his offseason workouts, but the possibility of a lockout is very real, so Ward may have a lot of downtime this offseason.

I’m not a big fan of the show at all, but the Ravens fan in me may watch to hope that he gets a bad score so that Cheshire Cat-like grin can be wiped off his face.

Hey, I never said I wasn’t petty. The show premieres March 21. I’m sure we’ll see tons of black and yellow in the crowd.

The Steelers are still dealing with losing the Super Bowl last weekend, but they are keeping a bunch of doctors busy right now. Tons of injuries by key players and all are looking to rehab and/or repair their problem ASAP. Here’s a rundown of injuries the Steelers are facing.

Troy Polamalu

Achilles tendon injury suffered during season (says he’s fine, no surgery needed)

Aaron Smith

Torn triceps suffered on Oct. 24th

Maurkice Pouncey

High ankle sprain suffered in AFC Championship

James Harrison

Shoulder surgery that he suffered against divisional playoff game against Ravens (scheduled to have surgery soon)

Emmanuel Sanders

Broken foot that he suffered in the Super Bowl

Hines Ward

Surgery for ligament damage in his thumb and cartilage cleaning in his knee

Ben Roethlisberger

[insert any injury here]

The Steelers are pretty banged up. With the CBA being ready to expire on March 3rd, players will not have healthcare until a new agreement is into place. I’m sure they’re looking to fix their ailments now, while they still have insurance that the league supplies them with.

With the 2010 Divisional Playoffs ready to kickoff this weekend, it’s hard to ignore that the top 4 teams remaining in the AFC are division rivals. The Ravens head to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers, while the Jets head to snowy New England to face Brady and the Pats. Four teams that can’t stand each other, whether it be quietly or to publicly, looking to advance to the AFC Championship game. To say this may be one of the most exciting playoff weekends in football would be well deserved. But this is more than just a playoff game to these 4 teams. Way more.

There is a different energy lurking between the 2 rivals, and for different reasons. The Ravens and Steelers have become one of the top rivalries over the past decade, while the Jets and Patriots have a renewed spark after the hiring of Rex Ryan. How these two rivalries operate are a bit different.. but not far off from each other. Allow me to break it down.

Ravens/Steelers

This rivalry is the new wave rivalry of the NFL, compared to Packers/Bears and Redskins/Cowboys. The Ravens have only been around 15 years, but many believe that Baltimore inherited the rivalry when the team moved from Cleveland (a longer, more known rivalry) after the 1995 season. While the Ravens weren’t too good the first few years of existence, they picked up the pace once they won Super Bowl XXXV. The Steelers have the slight advantage over the Ravens, with a 13-9 record since 2000 (including the playoffs). What makes this rivalry special are the similarities between the 2 teams. Both are known for their strong defense and good running game, along with a very good front office and ownership. Both cities are labeled, “blue collar” and carry inferiority complexes. Add the fact that the 2 cities have a history of being sports rivals (the Steelers-Baltimore Colts battles in the 70s as well as the Pirates beating the O’s in the World Series) and you have a recipe for a great rivalry. There was a point in time where this rivalry was downright ugly. Remember the Ray Lewis/Joey Porter feud?

Over the past couple of years, the Ravens and Steelers have quietly stopped their verbal attack and simply taken it on the field. They all say they hate each other, but some say it’s not as much hatred as you think. Coach Harbaugh and Tomlin talk during pregames, and Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu admitted once before that they text each other. The mantra as of late has been, “We hate each other, but we respect each other”. And while Hines Ward and Terrell Suggs and found ways to keep it funky with the little things they still do and say to the media, the trash talking has been put aside to actions speaking louder, with the blood bath they lay out on the field and even 3 times a year.

Jets/Patriots

This rivalry, while an older one, has become a renewed rivalry thank to the likes of  Rex Ryan. These two cities flat out cannot stand each other. Red Sox Nation can’t stand the Yankees and vice versa. People from New York don’t like people from New England. It’s a power struggle between the 2 cities that has been trickled down to sports. And from the day Rex Ryan stepped foot on the Jets podium as their head coach, he continued the trend.

The Jets and Patriots have a much closer rivalry record than the Steelers/Ravens (they are 51-51-1 overall), but there are those who still find the term laughable when discussing the 2 teams. The Patriots have dominated the past decade and has won 8 times in a row before the 2009 season. Rex Ryan has never met a microphone he didn’t like, and his blunt approach towards the Patriots has trickled down to his players. Darrelle Revis has made comments about Pats players in the past, and most recently Antonio Cromartie said Eff Tom Brady. Even Ryan took some shots at the Patriots star player. Nevertheless, Belichick and company respond to the Jets antics with predictable, robotic answers that are too boring to quote. They do, however, respond out on the football field. Case in point, the last time these 2 teams played, the Patriots dismantled the Jets in the 45-3 rout. While Belichick loves to hit you where it REALLY hurts, Rex is a sound byte genius when it comes to the pregame antics.

Four teams, 2 rivals, 1 weekend. The rivalries are different, but not by much. This is what we’ve been waiting for. And I, for one, cannot wait! Thank God for rivalries!

Steelers WR Hines Ward has never found a media microphone he didn’t like. From calling out his own teammates, to giving opposing teams bulletin board material, Ward has never been shy about saying anything that’s on his mind. This week, he continued that trend when talking about the NFL and their hypocrisy.

Ward’s teammate James Harrison has been fined $125,000 so far this year, due to the recent changes and enforcements the league made to protect defenseless players. When discussing the topic of league safety, Ward lashed out at the league, saying that they have none of the players interest at hand.

“The league doesn’t care about us anyway. They don’t care about the safety of the game. If the league was so concerned about the safety, why are you adding two more games on? You talk about you don’t want players to drink … and all you see is beer commercials. You don’t want us to gamble, but then there are [NFL-endorsed lottery scratch-off games].

“It’s going to change the outcome; somebody’s going to lose a game because of it. It’s going to be a huge play in a playoff game, somebody’s going to hit a quarterback or do something and the referee is going to be too scared to call it. So he’s going to call it anyway so he can save his tail. [The player] may not even get fined or not, but it will come down to the outcome of a ballgame.

“We don’t know what the league wants.”

Ward is definitely on to something. I’ve said before on my blog that I am not a fan of the schedule being extended 2 extra weeks because of the violent nature of the game. These players are human beings, and I’m not sure if 18 weeks of hard hitting is something their bodies can take. Outside of the owners, I’m not sure who else wins, especially if a team wraps up a division at Week 14 and decide to rest their starters for the remainder of the season.

I agree with Ward’s allegations of hypocrisy by the NFL. Another example of the NFL’s hypocrisy is the frowning on celebrations during games. Players are flagged and even fined for excessive celebrations, yet Verizon uses those same dances to promote the NFL Mobile app on their line of phones.

One has to assume that the NFL has to approve the images and videos before Verizon was able to use them. That, along with the other points Ward brought out are valid. And I agree, it could possibly be a scenario in which those hits may be a deciding factor in a football game.

If the NFL wants to continue to make changes to the game, they have to reconsider the idea of hiring these referees as full time employees. Too many times, we see different interpretations of what is deemed a roughing the passer call, a helmet-to-helmet hit, or any other large penalty that can keep drives alive in games, and it’s unfair to the players and to the fans. There should be a specific guideline on what is considered a flagged hit that each referee crew follows. Will they always get it right? Of course not. They are prone to make mistakes just like anyone else. But constant education and training of what’s the right call is a start.

Hines Ward has been as vocal as anyone when it comes to saying what’s on his mind. He called out Roethlisberger last season, questioning his decision to sit out during last year’s Ravens-Steelers game and he questioned Richard Seymour’s fine after he open hand slapped Big Ben to the ground a couple of weeks ago. Whether you love or hate Ward, you have to respect his verbal gangsta. He speaks what’s on his mind and whether or not you fully agree with his point of view, he makes good examples that has you thinking.