I'm not sure how many of my readers regularly watch ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," but I suspect that number will dwindle now that Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward is joining the cast for the show's 12th season. Well, unless you're hoping Ward will hammer host Tom Bergeron on a crack-back block.
It was different last year when Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, the NFL's class clown, went "Dancing." The outspoken receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson has hit a nerve or two with his verbal attacks on the Ravens in the past, but most fans seem to enjoy his act from afar.
Meanwhile, no football player is more reviled in Baltimore than Ward, 34, who over the years has dealt the Ravens a few borderline blows in the NFL's hardest-hitting rivalry. Watching Ward twirl around the ballroom with a gorgeous dancer on his arm and that signature grin on his mug will be too much for Ravens fans to bear.
I'm sure Ravens fans would be cool with Ward's numbers taking a dip next season like Ochocinco's did in 2010. Ochocinco had just 67 catches for for 831 yards and four touchdowns after appearing on "Dancing With the Stars" and his awful VH1 reality show, "Ochocinco: The Ultimate Catch."