Hines Ward
Hines Ward Pittsburgh Steelers wide-out Hines Ward missed his team's first Super Bowl practice in Tampa on Wednesday. Ward sprained his right medial collateral ligament during the AFC championship game against the Raven on January 18th.

Ward was the MVP of Super Bowl XL when he had five catches for 123 yards and a touchdown in Pittsburgh's 21-10 win over Seattle, but was on the sidelines today. He only was able to spend a little bit of time trying out a new small black brace on his injured right knee, while running and cutting on a side field.

This was nothing new for Ward as Steelers coach Mike Tomlin held his 32 year old receiver out of all Wednesday this season to keep him from wearing down.

Coach
Tomlin was very optimistic when asked about Ward in a press conference after practice.

"The knee is awesome. It's great," he said. "It won't be an excuse (on game day) regardless of the condition of the knee."

Ward was the Steelers leading receiver in 2008. He had 81 catches for 1043 yard and finished the season with his fifth 1,000-yard receiving year.

"Better by the day," Ward said of the knee. "I woke up and had treatment this morning. I'll go out and jog around a little bit and see where I am."

Ward is expected to participate in Thursday's practice. This will be a big step in deciding his status for Sunday.

As far as the team itself, Tomlin said his team had a good day of practice, but they need to continue to get better.