PITTSBURGH - When the Pittsburgh Steelers announced their co-MVPs this week, the one with the fullback's mentality and the receiver's grace and the kicker's size was wearing a couple of personal trademarks.
He had on a devilish grin, a constant on the field when battering or beating defensive backs. And he had on a black-on-gold T-shirt that fits only him: Hines Field, Established 2001, 86 Varieties, Net Wt. 3200 Oz. (200 LB).
This is Hines Ward's game, this Steelers-Ravens date is on his home Heinz Field, and the Ravens know that the Steelers' No. 86 will be throwing his 6-foot, 200-pound body around the place at 1 p.m. tomorrow.
Most notable among his opponents tomorrow is James Trapp, with whom Ward and fellow receiver Plaxico Burress got into that fine-filled tiff Oct. 27 at Ravens Stadium. League officials handed Trapp a $15,000 penalty and Burress a $5,000 wrist slap, half of which Ward donated as a Halloween present, because the NFL doesn't permit someone paying off another's fine. In short, it's the kind of game this Hines relishes.
"There's no revenge," said Ward, who endured so many pitfalls in an early season pockmarked by a temporary position switch, an emergency appendectomy and a dressing down from his own mother. "That was a long time ago. It's part of the game. Trust me, if he [Trapp] comes either Plex's or my way, we're going to block him. We're not going to go out and try to hit him.
"It's not one particular person, either. There's no love lost between their defense and our offense, and vice versa."
Ward is a franchise record-setter and a two-time Pro Bowl selection who Thursday was named 2002 co-MVP of the Steelers (9-5-1) along with linebacker Joey Porter. Yet he is almost better known for his crushing blocks, after which he is often seen wearing that devilish grin and jawing with his vanquished foe.
The Steelers are predominantly a running team, and Ward impresses upon his fellow receivers that they should leave physical impressions upon opponents. In a three-game stretch at last year's midpoint, he bloodied the nose of then-Ravens safety Rod Woodson, sidelined Tennessee safety Perry Phenix and knocked out Cleveland safety Earl Little. Then-Steelers fullback Jon Witman called Ward "a small fullback stuck in a wide receiver's body."
"He had one on my touchdown against Carolina," Burress remembered of a recent Ward wallop. "I was coming around the corner and he buried the guy. He snuck around and crushed him in the earhole."
It's almost to the point where folks wonder: Does Ward prefer the big block or the big catch?
"No, man, I'm still a receiver," said the grinning fifth-year pro from Georgia. "I want the big catch. I just play the game physical. I like to hit."
Ward plays receiver well enough to earn a second consecutive Pro Bowl berth and rank among the NFL leaders. He is the No. 10 scorer in the league overall and the leading scorer among AFC receivers with 72 points on 11 touchdowns and three two-point conversions.
His 107 catches and 1,283 yards rank second in the AFC to the Indianapolis Colts' Marvin Harrison, the former number setting a Steelers single-season record and the latter falling just 116 yards shy of Yancey Thigpen's mark, set in 1997. His back-to-back seasons of 1,000-plus yards also tied a franchise record set 3 1/2 decades earlier, by a fellow best recognized for his Washington Redskins exploits: Roy Jefferson.
The Steelers' up-and-down season started with a few downs for Ward. At training camp, he got into an animated on-field discussion with coach Bill Cowher after being moved to slot receiver to free up a spot for Troy Edwards, the result being an Edwards trade to St. Louis soon after and Ward's return to his customary wide-out role.
He complained to a team doctor before boarding a flight to a preseason game, and he wound up with an emergency appendectomy. He griped to reporters after a 125-yard day against Cincinnati that Burress would've made the front page of USA Today if he had enjoyed such a performance, a quotation aimed at his own perceived lack of national recognition. (He later apologized even though his teammates never questioned him.)
His only problem lately: a balky hamstring.
"Having Plex and Hines on either side is a quarterback's dream," Tommy Maddox said of the NFL's most prolific receiving tandem (182 catches, 2,556 yards, 18 touchdowns).
Now, about his mother. Ward was born in South Korea, where his father, Hines Sr., a serviceman, met his mother, Kim Yeong-hui. The family came to America and the parents later divorced. So Yeong raised her only child by herself in an Atlanta apartment, often toiling at two jobs at the same time. The work ethic remained ingrained in the son, 26, who prides himself on handling all aspects of a receiver's job.
When Oakland's Charles Woodson separated Ward from the football in the Steelers' second game of the season, a key fumble that led to the Steelers' 0-2 and 1-3 starts, he went home to find a message on his answering machine. It was from Mom. "How could you be so stupid?"
He hasn't fumbled since.