With the National Football League lockout now the longest in the history of the sport, one player in particular has found a way to continue his championship aspirations away from the game, and it was the biggest news around the football world on Wednesday morning. Pittsburgh Steelers' wide receiver Hines Ward was named Dancing With The Stars champion on Tuesday night, earning a disco-ball trophy to add to his collection of hardware. The former Super Bowl MVP has held the Vince Lombardi trophy twice, and now a combination of viewer votes and judges' scores tallied up to make him the winner of the 12^th season of the show, weeks ahead of the 2011 Belmont betting race.

Ward beat out actresses Kirstie Alley and Chelsea Kane for the title, using the samba to impress both the judges and the audience. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba told Ward that he was the MVP of the season, and that he not only led the way with his incredible moves, but the fact that he was able to help his partner overcome an injury was another impressive factor. Ward was a fan favorite all year and the hard work finally paid off with a first-place finish. Not sure what the online sports betting odds were for Ward to win the competition, but with football on the shelf for the foreseeable future at least one player has found a forum to strut his stuff.