Hines Ward to transform himself into the black and yellow swan

The competitors on "Dancing With the Stars" should prepare themselves to be blindsided by Hines Ward -- perhaps with his elegance and grace, or maybe by a jaw-crushing block.

The Pittsburgh Steelers receiver will be joining the cast of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," following in the footsteps of other prancing NFL'ers Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin, Warren Sapp, Chad Ochocinco, Jason Taylor, Kurt Warner and Lawrence Taylor.

Gridiron superstars have a pretty good track record on the show. Warren Sapp, Jerry Rice and Jason Taylor all finished second, and Emmitt Smith won the whole thing in 2006.

Ward, though, has never been known as the lithe, elegant type. He's best known for his tenacious blocking, which sometimes results in gruesome collisions, and sometimes convinces his peers to call him "the dirtiest player in the league."

Joining him on the cast will be Sugar Ray Leonard, Petra Nemcova, Kirstie Alley, Chris Jericho, Mike Catherwood, Lil' Romeo, Chelsea Kane, Wendy Williams, the great Ralph Macchio and Kendra Wilkinson, the wife of Minnesota Vikings receiver Hank Baskett.

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