Hines Ward did not get suspended for his season ending hit to Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers. Since there has been a lot of discussion about my claims that Ward is a dirty player in light of these events and because unlike most sites BlackSportsOnline does not run from criticism or is above admitting a mistake has been made I will address the issue.
First do I still think Ward is a dirty player?
Absolutely!
But this isn't just my assessment this is the assessment of his peers current and former players.
Do I think Ward gets a free pass whereas other wide receivers get blasted?
Absolutely!
This isn't a shot at Ward, but more at the bias mainstream sports media. Ward is one of the biggest trash talkers and show boaters in the league, but it is never reported as such because simply the media picks and chooses who the bad and good guys are.
Do I think Ward is a good player?
Absolutely!
I never said otherwise. Young players especially receivers could learn a thing or two from watching how Ward plays the game of football.
Do I think Ward's hit on Keith Rivers was legal?
Absolutely Not!
The moment he dropped his head and launched into Rivers it was illegal in my book. That is my opinion. But seeing that he hasn't been suspended or fined obviously the league felt otherwise and I can respect that. He wasn't fined so you are perfect within your right to say I was wrong because of the judgment of the NFL. According to them it was a legal hit and in this specific instance I will state that while my opinion was it was illegal I was wrong in making that assessment before waiting on hearing from official word from the NFL.
The thing that you have to understand is I have no bias against anyone in the league, but I will point out injustices as I see fit.
I will jack you up next
I dont know who you are but you obviously have no backround with game of football, nor do you have any idea what a dirty play is. Hines ward is not a dirty player, he actually plays the game the way its supposed to be played. Just because he plays the game like a linebacker rather than a premadona pric wide reciever whos scared to hit someone doesnt by any means dub him as a dirty player. Hines plays the game like a football player first and a wide reciever second. I dirty play is a hit after the whistle or a low hit intentionally trying to hurt someone, and hines has done neither of those, let alone he doesnt get flagged for his hits yet you are calling him dirty. Hines is a one of a kind player, and for all i know you are some pric-ass baltimore fan still bitchin about ed reed and bart scott getting laid out last year. You got issues dude
Littal,
You are 100% in all contexts wrong about your assessment of hines ward's hit on rivers this past sunday, PERIOD. Hide behind the fact that its "your opinion", any person can sit back be wrong then answer critics with the "Well its my opinion" cop out. Give me a break, hits like this happen all the time in football and if you honestly think ward was attempting to end this guys season, then I'd have to so your one of the worst football anylysts of all time. The media picks on T.O. because hes an idiot. The media picks on Moss because he makes lude gestures to Packers fans. They don't pick on recievers for trash talking, EVERY PLAYER trash talks and its to get in an opponents head. If the media were to repport on every player that trash talked then they wouldn't have time to write about the games themselves. Simply put the media dosn't care about trash talkers, they care about the idiots who talk to much OFF the feild. Be real for a minute and recognize that you do have some bias working behind your comments, any fool can see that. The only peers and former players that say he is a dirty player would be the ones that have been blasted out of there pants by his legal above the waste shots. Get a clue, because you refuse to see yourself as completly wrong I will personally never take notice of another article you write, should I be unfortunate enough to ever see one from you again!
you obviously have no clue what you are talking about. Hines ward is not dirty in any sense of the imagination. He plays hard the way it has always been played. Hines ward is also one of the most humble guys because of his upbringing as a child so he respects the game and the other players. Also i have never heard a former player state the they thought that Hines Ward is a dirty player. Watch tv all those former players (now analysis's) they all love the way that Hines plays, and respect him because he's not like other receivers he doesn't complain, he catches the ball when its thrown to him even if he gets jacked up, and he blocks till the end of the whistle. i have zero respect for you as a sports writer and you should quit.
Randy Moss didn't make a lude gesture to the Packers fans that is false. Obviously people don't like Moss or T.O.
What I don't understand is you blast Littal for having an opinion when you yourself are making opinions yourself.
You think he is clean. Littal thinks he is dirty. It isn't a right or wrong answer.
Littal point is that NFL players think Ward is dirty which carries more weight that fans. I don't know if I agree with that but no one seems to contradict that point.
well greg there's opinions, and there's fact heres the FACT....the nfl who makes the rules, says it was NOT a dirty hit.this assclown tryies to support his OPINION, with other players perception of hines.here's a FACT...... out of the 32 coaches asked who the dirtiest player in the nfl is....hines got one vote. surely if he was the scourge of the league this moron claims him to be, there should've been more than one.as far as the players who voted for hines as dirty.....could it be Dbacks and linebackers who are embarrassed by being jacked up by a little wide reciever, doing the voting?
And it's my opinion that you don't know squat about football, or about blocking.
Had this been a defensive player hitting an offensive player, people would have been out of their seats with excitement. Dirty players stick fingers in guys eyes, hit late constantly, jump on the pile, or make comments about "coming after" someone and then try to fulfill that "promise".
Or is that not dirty, that's just football? Look defensive players get great hits all the time and now there is a WR who understands his position as well as his team on the job.
Here's a few clues for you...
1) It is football
2) It is a violent sport
3) Sometimes players get hurt even with legal hits
The facts are also that Hines has been fined for illegal hits and his peers say he is dirty.
So it isn't like a first offense.
You guys to seem to take it personal.
You are dousche whoever wrote this. You porobably never played football ni your life so you don't know what it's like no matter how much T.V. you watch or howmuch you thinkl your a fan it's called adown fieldblock
Since when has trash-talking, showboating and lighting people up on blocks playing dirty?... That's what football is! Playing dirty is cheating. Like spitting in someone's face, or gouging at their eyes...kinda like Rodney Harrison, not Hines Ward decleating a much larger linebacker on a down field block. He didn't chop at his legs, or hold; he went full blast and did his JOB.
Wow this is heated. Living in the BMore area, the local sports radio show has a bunch of shows that are hosted by Ravens players and they all pretty much say he's dirty. He doesn't do anything illegal, but he blows people up on blindside hits/blocks a lot and hurts people. That's what the players are saying, not me. I don't watch Steeler games, so I have no opinion of my own here. It looks like he belongs in the same category as the Denver O-line, who don't break the rules but do stuff that injures opposing defenders on the regular and pisses people off.
all i kno is this if that was chad johnson or t.o. that wouldve been a dirty hit but hines since he dosent get into any troble off the field its a good hit there alot of double standards in the media and football and also keith rivers shoulda been looking for the comeback block
LOL.....are you frigin kidding me.....You i can only assume are one of two things...A girl and dont like the violent game of football or a bengals fan. You might want to take a look at that hit again and again and again...because Ray Charles could see that that was a clean hit. Hines hit him in the shoulder from the side..its not his fault that Rivers(probably your cousin)has a glass jaw....maybe the two of you should pick up needle point,no then you would probably be scared of pricking yourself..i have nothing else to say except that you are IDIOT..seriously
The hits were legal. No flags. The fines were nothing. Ward is tops.
Bonehead Sports Expert. (Robert Littal). You obiously never participated in any contact sports. The only cheap shot, dirty hit involving Hines Ward in the thumping of the Bungals last week was the pussy hit that he took after catching a touchdown pass and when he was clearly out of bounds by Dexter Jackson. The hit was illegal, dirty and drew a 15 yard personal foul penalty. This was definately in retaliation to Wards clean wacking of Keith Rivers. I am waiting to see how much the NFL fines Jackson for his classless act.
does smiling make you a show boater?
i dont know but all these antics ive seen bigger name wideouts making a mockery of the sport with their endzone celebrations.
and it is my opinion that defensive players vote ward dirty cuz he is the only receiver not afraid to hit them hard, ive seen defenders make more brutal hits on players on a weekly basis and nothing gets said.
and why no article on terrell suggs claiming the ravens have a bounty on ward, and had a bounty on mendenhall when ray lewis abruptly ended his young rookie season?
that all seems much dirty than Ward will ever be.
LOL....man Hines Ward is a Pro and doing everything to help his team win, what if he didn't throw that block thats 3 or 5 extra yards that is lost, my coach told me keep your head on a swivel. it was a clean and hard ass hit. I think we should start watching more arena football...lol...
I played football...if I cold-cocked a guy that was slowing up and out of the play, by spearing him in the face with a helmet, like Ward did...I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. I also know from playing...he's a marked man now, baby! We'll see how he cries when the hat's on his jaw...
...you must be from Cleveland....
What goes around comes around... I cant wait to hear all the steeler fans cry when ward gets what is coming to him. Or maybe when the league gets the balls to ban him when he kills someone. 90% of his hits happen out of the play. I also think the Steelers design plays to exploit this opportunism. The only way ward would ever have any hope at knocking down any of the db's and linebackers he does is by blindsiding them when the play is essentially over. That makes him a punk bitch. Those types of hits are nothing to be celebrated.
With the Rivers hit, it was clearly a helmet to helmet hit. Anyone saying he has a "glass jaw" is an idiot, because nobody makes it to the NFL with a glass jaw, except maybe a quarterback. They say Rivers will be out for the rest of the season, I have my doubts if we will ever see him play anywhere again.
Hines Ward is the best blocking WR in the NFL. Of course guys who get knocked down by him are going to say he's dirty, no NFL player is going to admit that somebody got the best of them.
As for the hit on Rivers, it looked legal to me. Yes, his head was down but he clearly makes contact with his shoulder.
HEY JOHN.....my son plays pee wee fotball. he gives and receives hits like that every game. the sport we're talking about here is tackle football, not flag football. when you say that you've played football, i think you talkin about soccer. it's just amazing to me. two of the first things my son was taught during his first few practices were hit hard and be ready to be hit hard. if you think that ward is a dirty player, then you must be a clowns fan, bungles fan, or a bottom feeding, art modelle loving, some of the most dirty, cheating players in the league, ratbird fan.....but hey theres always next year? right??????
Please. Hines Ward is a true football player who plays the game the way it's meant to be played. Like the days of the Franco Harris's. If your stupid enough to be on the field and not keep your eyes open for someone who may hit you get off the damn field. The way things are going the field is gonna have nothing but players like Plaxico on them. "Oh no. Could win the game by jumping up and catching the ball, but this guy is gonna hit me. Oh no better not jump. I'll just skip practice." How bout we get rid of everyone except the quarterback, running back, and one wide receiver. On the defense we'll just have one defender. Oh yah and you can't touch eachother. Idiot.
hines was voted as one of the top 3 dirtiest players in the league BY THE PLAYERS. he was 3rd to only harrsion from NE, and roy will of dallas both defensive players. so thats is saying something. im not saying the hit was dirty. it wasnt but hines is a dirty player. always has been always will.
The bottom line is if Hinez Ward would of lead with his forehead instead of the crown of his helmet, Keith Rivers would still be playing. Someone blew up some frame by frames of the HD broadcast and it is very clear what happened. In the frame by frame, you see Heinz Ward beat Keith Rivers to the spot, which is fine, but just before impact Ward lowers his head all the way down to where his crown goes under Rivers helmet and hits along with his right shoulder pad on Rivers left pad.
Robert Littal, you sir, are a moron. I can almost guarantee that if Keith Rivers was white, you would not be playing the racism card that makes up the majority of your posts on this site. Take an educated stance on something for once. Good football is colorblind, and Hines Ward made a completely legal block. If Rivers was dumb enough to not have his head on a swivel, something you would have learned if you ever played football, he wouldn't be out for the season. Stop perpetuating a racial victim's mindset through your babbling on this inferior blog. I wish I didn't give your website a hit, yet, I found this so preposterous that I had to comment.
WOW! You must not know much about football if you think the hit he laid on Rivers was dirty or illegal. I have played football for over 20 years and one thing your taught early is that until the whistle blows whether the play is near you or not...if you get the chance to lay someone out you do it!!! They will be less likely to be pursuing hard after a play if they are looking over there shoulder. Great block, great play. I wish more WR would block with some intensity and lookin to head hunt like Ward does. Just my opinion...but the other thing they teach and tell you from pop warner on...keep your head on a swivel or someone will pop you! I.E Rivers, Ed Reed, Bart Scott and list goes on!
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