STEELERS EXTEND WARD

I must admit, I was totally blindsided (in a good way) with the breaking news that on draft day, the Pittsburgh Steelers extended the contract of WR Hines Ward through 2012. The deal is for four years, $22 million, and should allow #86 to finish his career in the Black and Gold.The 33-year-old Ward, who has been with the Steelers since 1998, has been to four Pro Bowl and was a part of three All-Pro teams. He's won two Super Bowl rings, including the game MVP award in SB40, and won team MVP or co-MVP honors three times. Last season, Ward remained productive, with 81 catches, 1,043 yards, and seven touchdowns.I have to admit, I was long worried about how Ward's Steeler career would end. He's always portrayed himself as a guy who likes to play the "Me against the World" card, and I feared that someday the Steelers would tell him news he didn't want to hear and he'd end up in a different uniform. Now that it looks like we've dodged that bullet, I'm ...