Hines Ward Myspace Article

The rookies are coming along slowly, according to a couple of established veterans. Fortunately for the Steelers, Hines Ward and Deshea Townsend were talking about the performances of the first-year players off the field, not on it. The rookies did some singing in front of the team Wednesday night, and if Ward had reviewed the, uh, performances, he would have given them two thumbs down.

\"They\'re going to have to step up their game for the rookie talent show, because our talent is terrible,\" Ward said.

The rookie talent show is a Steelers tradition and a diversion from the drudgery of training camp. Ward said the first-year wideouts may be the worst, as a group, of all the rookies, at least it terms of singing.

\"I\'ve got to really work with them, because I\'m getting a lot of complaints from the veterans,\" Ward said. \"They need to step up their talent and put on a great show for the veteran guys.\"

The Steelers hold their first night practice of training camp today, and they\'ll do it off campus. The Steelers will practice from 7 to 9 p.m. at Latrobe High School\'s Memorial Stadium. The cost is $3 for adults ages 18-65 and $1 for children under 18 as well as senior citizens. Coach Mike Tomlin said the Steelers will treat the practice as they would any regular afternoon one.

\"We\'ll hit that element of situational football that we always do,\" Tomlin said.

The night practice will be preceded by a morning one, as the Steelers will run drills from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at St. Vincent College.