Play before pay

Hines Ward said all the right things, expressed all the right feelings.

Better late than never.

Ward talked of how passionate he is about football. He spoke of his teammates and especially his head coach in almost reverent tones. He maintained his goal all along has been to be a "Steeler for life." And he insisted "chills went through my body" at the mere sight of black-and-gold clad Steelers fans.

"Watching practice sucks," added Ward, who apparently spent part of his holdout surfing the NFL Network.

Had Ward said these things on July 31 at St. Vincent College, there might have been a hint of legitimacy behind them, perhaps even as much power as Ward normally packs on one of those blocks he's so famous for throwing.

As it was, in the interview room at Heinz Field prior to the preseason opener between the Eagles and Ward's beloved Steelers, they sounded desperate.

Who didn't know that song and dance was coming two weeks into a holdout that had no chance to succeed?

Most revealing from Ward's 18-minute fence-mending session was his response when asked what his holdout had accomplished?

"I don't know," Ward replied.

Somewhere, Jeff Spicoli and Mr. Hand were smiling.

"Do I regret it?" Ward added. "No, I don't."

Nor should he, thanks to the Steelers' inspired manipulation of a stalemate that threatened to become a standoff.

They weren't going to negotiate with a player under contract who wasn't in camp, period.

And Ward's testing their resolve wasn't going to get him anywhere.

By doing so, anyway, he threatened his future with the organization. Thankfully, the organization values Ward enough as a player and respects him enough as a person to afford him a chance to retreat with dignity.

No deal has been struck -- the two sides aren't close -- and yet Ward was able to maintain a straight face when observing that the ball is "back in the front office's court."

That's where the front office has wanted it all along.

The fantastic part of this saga is that the Steelers have wanted to pay Ward from the beginning. They've offered him a franchise-record signing bonus, one north of Ben Roethlisberger's $7.8 million, plus a roster bonus that bloated the reward for Big Ben's signature to about $9 million.

Ward's going to get more than that.

How much more must be negotiated, but at least now negotiations can resume.

Finally, Ward has seen the light.

Did the Steelers convince him, or convince his agent• Did Bill Cowher•

Clearly, someone coaxed Ward off the ledge. And the personal podium at Heinz presented for Ward betrayed the organization's approval regarding the manner in which the prodigal receiver returned.

Ward still won't admit it's about the money (maybe not T.O. money or Randy Moss money, but money nonetheless, big, guaranteed chunks of it). If he did, that wouldn't make him any different from anyone else who plays the game professionally, but for some reason Ward can't bring himself to go there.

Whatever, at least now it's also about football.

Ward's back, and there is much rejoicing.

It'll be a quickly forgotten footnote when that long-term extension is eventually achieved that he had nowhere else to go.