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Hines Ward, the hard-blocking anchor of the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers corps for much of the last decade, was in the news over the weekend. Not much of it was pleasant for Ward.

A couple of reports surfaced indicating that Ward wasn't likely to return to the Steelers. Scott Brown of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review told ESPN that he didn't believe Ward would be back with the Steelers, and the NFL Network's Jason La Canfora said his sources believe that Ward won't be back.

On Saturday, Hines took to Facebook to make his case for staying.

I don't normally like to respond to rumors, but as I've said all along, I want to finish my career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. And as I've already told the organization, I am willing to work with them to restructure my contract to make sure this happens.
- HINES

Steelers sources told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that no decision at all had been made on Ward, but of course, that's what they would say. At any rate, the best-case scenario for Ward right now is that his status with the Steelers is up in the air, which leaves open the possibility that Hines Ward could be in a different uniform in 2012.

And that would be weird. Imagine Ward playing for, say … the Baltimore Ravens.

One suspects that Mr. Tebow was awaiting a more attractive proposal than this. (AP)

Two years ago, Tim Tebow was in full training for the NFL Draft, eventually being taken in the first round by the Denver Broncos. Now after leading the Broncos to the AFC West title and the playoffs, Tebow is ready to be drafted again.

But this time, it is Uncle Sam that wants him.

Well, maybe not Uncle…

Airwoman Jamie Walden, an active-duty member of the military based in Shreveport, LA goes on YouTube to ask if the Broncos quarterback will be her date to the upcoming Military Ball. In the opening seconds of the video, Walden wastes little time and in prompt military fashion, flat-out makes her request.

"Tim Tebow, will you be my date to the 2012 Military Ball, my first Military Ball here in Shreveport?" Walden asks as she stares into the camera.

The video includes Walden's mother Patti making a plea for Tebow to be her daughter's date. it also includes similar outreaches from many of the brave fighting men and women on Walden's base, encouraging Tebow to "Say yes, Tim."

Getty ImagesFollowing in the legendary footsteps of Adam "Pacman" Jones, New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs will be in a TNA wrestling ring Monday night.

It won't air until Thursday night, but the television taping takes place Monday night in Orlando. Here's more from Alex Marvez at Fox Sports:

The 6-foot-4, 264-pound Jacobs is expected to have a confrontation with TNA star and 1996 U.S. Olympic gold-medalist wrestler Kurt Angle. Jacobs won't work an actual match but there may be some degree of physicality that wouldn't violate his NFL contract.

If you'll recall, last year after winning the Super Bowl, Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews did something similar with the WWE. He was a special guest referee as Edge retained his World Heavyweight Championship over Dolph Ziggler.

Bill Belichick can dress up when he needs to. Despite his affinity for hooded sweatshirts, the New England Patriots coach looks spiffy when he shows up for a Super Bowl press conference or goes to the White House or is out for a night on the town with his special lady friend. One would think that fashion decorum would translate to the golf course. One would think.

Days after the Pats coach lost his second Super Bowl in New England, he was at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am wearing a gray sweatshirt on the links. Golf fashion is a bit of a redundancy, but there's a certain decorum one should have when he steps onto the first tee. Kangaroo pockets are not among them.

(AP)

That's a Pebble Beach sweatshirt, in case you couldn't read the writing. It's like Belichick got to the course, realized it was colder than he thought, walked into the pro shop and asked the guy behind the counter what he could show him in an embroidered hoodie.

This got us thinking: When else does Belichick favor the hoodie? Our investigation, which spans back 25 years, is below.

While livin' on a prayer. (Getty)

Little DeseanRight now, DeSean Jackson is a wide receiver, a Philadelphia Eagle, and a young, exciting player with a history of making questionable decisions. A few months from now, he will still be all those things, except maybe a Philadelphia Eagle.

According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, it's likely that the Eagles will hit Jackson with the franchise tag (they can't officially do this until Feb. 20), which would pay Jackson a little over $10 million for one season. It would keep Jackson in an Eagles uniform right now, but leaves his long-term Philly future up in the air. The franchise tag, in this case, is really just an indication that the Eagles aren't ready to commit to Jackson long-term.

So why would the Eagles, who were wide receiver deficient for so long, want to part ways with a 25-year-old speed merchant who has led the team in receiving for the last four years?

Tommie Harris with his wife Ashley (Getty)Veteran defensive tackle Tommie Harris is mourning the loss of his wife Ashley, who was 29. She was found unresponsive on Friday and passed away on Sunday. Doctors suspect a stroke or a brain aneurysm, but an official cause of death has not been determined.

Ashley and Tommie married in January. Their second child was born four months ago.

Before joining the San Diego Chargers, Harris spent seven years with the Chicago Bears. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that several of his Bears teammates flew to Oklahoma to be by his side. Not long after she passed away, Earl Bennett and Chris Harris tweeted their condolences.

Harris is a three-time Pro Bowler. In San Diego this season, he had three sacks and 13 tackles.

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(AP)

I have never doubted for one minute that when athletes say, "Hi, Mom!" from the bench, or after a victory, it's far more than a cliche. It comes from the heart, and for many of those players, it's an acknowledgement of the one person who helped them the most through their journeys to the top. While I was far too athletically inept to reach the highest bar in any major (or minor) sport, I know where those guys are coming from.

(AP)As the only child of a single mother, I can't tell you the number of times I've spoken with football players over the last decade about this. So many young men of my generation and after grew up with their mothers as the primary guiding light. Father figures would have to come from other places after the actual fathers bailed for any number of reasons. When the subject of "Mom" comes up, the toughest glass-eating linebacker will go soft. You'll hear a quieter voice, and you'll occasionally see tears. There is no repayment large enough to compensate those amazing women for the things they did -- very often under ridiculously trying circumstances. And the biggest guys know it best.

My mother, Ann Farrar, was a singer, and a great one. She sang with the Metropolitan Opera, and the Roger Wagner Chorale. It was during her time with the Met that she "won" my dad in a card game. They were together just long enough to have me. Then, Mom wanted to return to the states, and Dad wanted to remain in Europe. And that was that. The cord was cut, and we never heard from my father again.

Like so many of those football players, I was guided by a mother who had to make do. It wasn't always easy, to say the least, but we always got by. And she always made sure I didn't lack what I needed. My embryonic (and ultimately disastrous) football aspirations? Bam. The uniform showed up somehow. I wanted to write about the game?  Bam. Any other half-baked scheme of mine? Bam. Whatever I needed, I somehow got.

Through my time as a football guy, my Mom -- who preferred tennis when she was a young girl -- became a football fanatic. Not only did she watch the games, she peppered me with questions. Why is this happening? Why is that happening? In recent years, I'd bet she could identify a zone blitz better than half the guys on TV.

Clearly, she didn't go to all that trouble because football was so very fascinating to her. She wanted to know and share what I was doing, especially when I somehow managed to climb the ladder in this business.

Football was among the last and best things we shared. The last time we watched television together, it was the most recent AFC and NFC championship games in her hospital room. I was perfectly happy to turn the games off and let her rest, but she insisted. "Bring your laptop," she told me the day before. "You'll need to write about these things."

On Wednesday, Feb. 1, I got the call.

Eli Manning, comeback prodigy. (AP)

No matter the sport, those who wish to succeed over a long period of time must develop what I would call "athletic amnesia" -- the ability to learn from one's mistakes at the same time you avoid the mental and emotional backlash than can happen if you take those mistakes to heart too often. In the NFL, quarterbacks and cornerbacks really have to have that amnesia -- when you throw a pick, or when you get burned by a receiver, you have to stick that in your back pocket and move on. The game moves far too quickly; if you're busy pouting, it will pass you by.

In his first postseason MMQB column of 2012, SI.com's  Peter King looks back through a 10-year history of scouting notes, game recaps, and quotes from the man himself in an attempt to get to the heart of Eli Manning's character. What is it about this particular quarterback that drives him to come up big in the biggest moments, when those with even more talent than his will falter under pressure?

As King recalls, you can trace the "clutchiness" back to a 2002 game between Eli's Ole Miss team and Jason Campbell's heavily favored Auburn Tigers.

A couple of days later, [New York Giants then-GM Ernie] Accorsi types his report in all capital letters to be submitted as part of the team's scouting report on Manning. In a section of the report covering the second half, he writes: "NEVER GETS RATTLED. RALLIED HIS TEAM FROM A 14-3 HALFTIME DEFICIT BASICALLY ALL BY HIMSELF. LED THEM ON TWO SUCCESSIVE THIRD QUARTER DRIVES TO GO AHEAD, 17-16. THE FIRST TOUCHDOWN, ON A 40-YARD STREAK DOWN THE LEFT SIDELINE, HE DROPPED THE BALL OVER THE RECEIVER'S RIGHT SHOULDER. CALLED THE NEXT TOUCHDOWN PASS HIMSELF, CHECKING OFF TO A 12-YARD SLANT. MAKES A LOT OF DECISIONS ON PLAY CALLS AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE.''

That was the first clue for the Giants. In the same way that Bill Walsh leaned fairly heavily on a series of Notre Dame comeback victories in 1978 when evaluating Joe Montana, Accorsi knew the importance of this game. Clearly, it factored heavily in the Giants' decision to trade up with the San Diego Chargers in the 2004 draft and make Eli their future. He didn't care what had happened before to put him in that hole -- all the young quarterback was thinking about was how to right the ship.

Fast-forward in King's piece to Eli's rookie year, and a nationally televised game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and a fellow first-year quarterback named Ben Roethlisberger. Eli was coming off a series of disastrous games, especially a loss to the Baltimore Ravens in which the Ravens made him look like a high school backup.

Did Eli pout? Nope. Did he beat himself up publicly, as some of your dumber coaches would prefer their players do when they screw up? Not at all.