Here’s Steelers WR Hines Ward, after being asked about his hectic off-season schedule:

“This is fun. I love the treatment. When you can walk in and see all the players from other teams, there’s nothing they can say to you. You’re on top that whole offseason. I’ve been all over, to L.A., to Vegas, to Miami and seen all the players from all over. Hey, Peyton Manning, I know you’re great and all, but you don’t have a ring. You can be all this, all world, but you don’t have a ring. I have a ring. There’s nothing you can say to me right now.”

Well, that seems a little harsh. I mean, sure, it’s true… and no enjoys a good shot at Peyton Manning more than I do. But that came out of nowhere… a completely unprovoked shot. That was just downright mean. Funny, certainly… but mean. Next, someone asked Hined Ward what he thought about the Steelers chances to repeat. Here’s how the rest of the interview went:

Reporter: Hines, what do you think about the Steelers chances to repeat?
Hines: Well, I think we’ve got the right core in place, and we have some good guys, and you know what? Fuck Dan Marino. That dumb, permed-up son of a bitch can shove his Isotoners right up his ass. I got this ring, BEYAAATCH.
Reporter: Um… I… well, okay. So, Hines, what else are you getting involved in this off-season?
Hines: Well, I’m going to take a little vacation, and then get back to work, hit the gym, and then I thought I’d fly down to Atlanta and smack Charles Barkley in his big fat mouth. He never won a ring. HINES WARD’S GOT A RING! LOOK AT MY RING! FUCK YOU IF YOU DON’T HAVE ONE!
Reporter: This is– Hines, I don’t know what– this just seems weird, man.
Hines: KARL MALONE CAN GO HELL. DO YOU HEAR ME? KARL MALONE CAN GO STRAIGHT TO HELL.

Dirk Nowitzki said after Game One that he wouldn’t be able to score more than 20 points against Bruce Bowen. So head coach Avery Johnson, sensing that his superstar was in need of a tampon change, pretty much wrote him out of the gameplan. He basically said, “Alright, fine, stick Bruce Bowen on Dirk Nowtizki, and we’ll forget about Dirk Nowitzki. You can win that one. But we’re going to put two or three other speedy little guys on the floor, and they’re going to attack the rim as violently and frequently as Reggie Evans at a gay orgy.” And it worked.

Dirk, though he was very efficient with his shooting, took just 11 shots. Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Devin Harris, and Jerry Stackhouse all took more shots than Dirk. Devin Harris in particular was outstanding… he’s going to be some kind of player, especially in that system. Dallas ran a lot of pick-and-rolls, a lot of pick-and-pops, some drive-and-kicks, and they really got whatever shot they wanted.

And the Spurs can be taken advantage of a little bit around the rim, especially if it gets Tim Duncan in foul trouble like it did tonight. Robert Horry is certainly not a rim-protector. Nazr Mohammed is not playing well. And Rasho Nesterovic is still, quite unfortunately, Rasho Nesterovic.

That’s the move that Avery Johnson made, so Gregg Popovich has got to come up with something now, something to keep the Mavs from getting to the rim so easily. And he’ll figure something out… great coaches and great teams adjust. There are major problems for the Spurs in this series, though. Manu Ginobili is not himself… he’s been playing like Vin Baker. Tony Parker’s banged up, Tim Duncan is banged up, and their bench is not that good.

The advantage has shifted to the Mavericks, without question. I’m not saying that the Spurs have to win Game Three, but they do have to show that they’ve figured some things out. And they’ve got to show that someone can help take the load off of Tim Duncan offensively… which is more difficult now that the Mavericks play some nice defense.