By Teresa Varley
Steelers.com
Wide receiver Hines Ward looked ready for a red carpet premiere, dressed in a suit and sunglasses. But he wasn't trying to go Hollywood with the look at the Super Bowl XLIII Champions DVD premiere on Monday night. Instead, the sunglasses were more of a necessity.
Ward, who had shoulder surgery a few weeks ago, was wearing the glasses to protect his eyes.
"I busted a blood vessel in my eye when I had surgery on my shoulder," said Ward. "It's red right now and I don't want to show the world."
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Dan Rooney was honored during the NFL Combine when he was presented The Paul "Tank" Younger Award by the Fritz Pollard Alliance. The award is given to someone who displays outstanding work throughout the years both on and off the field in helping to level the playing field in the NFL. The award is named after Younger, the first minority executive in the NFL.
"This honor is about his work in diversity and his leadership that he provided the NFL to establish policy and procedures to give our people an opportunity to advance," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell of Rooney. "I think you see the evidence of that every day. He did it for the right reasons. It's the right thing to do. I think it's had a tremendous influence on the NFL."
Rooney is credited with the establishment of the "Rooney Rule," which requires NFL teams to interview minority candidates when searching for a head coach.
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Wide receiver Santonio Holmes was fined $10,000 by the NFL for his celebratory gesture after scoring the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLIII. Holmes shook a football and tossed it in the air in the same manner that Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James does with powder before every game.
When James was told of the fine he was stunned.
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"Did he?" asked James. "That's disgusting. It's fun for the fans – fun for me. I was watching. Us Ohio State Buckeyes, we're alums. We've got to stick together."
James did not attend Ohio State, but he is a fan of the Buckeyes.
