NFL ROUNDUP | News and notes

Steelers: Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward was nervous for the first time in his life as he prepared for a trip to the land of his birth. He also looked forward to learning more about his heritage. "I'm proud to be a Korean, that's something when I was little as a kid, I was ashamed of," Ward told a packed news conference room at the Seoul hotel where he was staying in a complementary suite normally reserved for world leaders. "I had to overcome a lot, being teased a lot by American kids about my being 50 percent Korean, being 50 percent African-American." Ward was virtually unknown here before the Super Bowl, since American football isn't widely followed in Korea. But since his Pittsburgh Steelers' victory and Ward's MVP award, he has become a media phenomenon in South Korea -- also drawing attention to the discrimination faced in this country by children of mixed parentage. "The Korean community has supported my mother and I for the first time in my life," Ward said at the news conference, carried live by several TV channels. Ward had lunch later Tuesday with President Roh Moo-hyun, presenting him with an autographed ball, cap and jersey. Roh gamely tossed the ball to Ward before the meal at the presidential Blue House. "You came back a hero," Roh said. "Children growing up in South Korea can have big dreams by watching Hines Ward." During his 10-day trip, he will also be granted honorary citizenship by the city of Seoul and be greeted at a reception hosted by the U.S. Embassy. He will also meet with children of mixed backgrounds. Ward was born in Seoul to a Korean mother, and his father was a black soldier. The family returned to the United States while Ward was a baby and his parents soon divorced. His mother, Kim Young-hee, was initially ruled unfit to keep her son, but he ran away to live with her in second grade. She worked three jobs to support him, a story that has drawn sympathy from hardworking Koreans. This is his first trip as an adult to South Korea. "I'm very intrigued with the Korean heritage. It's something that I missed out for 30 years of my life," Ward said. He said his mother taught him that race wasn't important, and called for understanding among people of all backgrounds.
Boat party scandal: Quarterback Daunte Culpepper was cleared Tuesday of misdemeanor charges stemming from a boat-party sex scandal. A judge ruled there wasn't probable cause to determine a crime was committed by Culpepper, one of four Minnesota Vikings accused of misdemeanor lewd conduct during the cruise last fall on a suburban lake. Culpepper has since been traded to the Miami Dolphins last month. Culpepper issued a statement through the Dolphins saying he was "delighted" at the ruling. "I was confident when the legal process began that the truth would come out, and I am glad that my innocence has been proven," he said. Culpepper testified last month that he merely played dice on the cruise. That, plus backing testimony from a friend, was enough to convince a judge to toss out the charges. "Since no evidence was presented to refute this testimony, this Court is compelled to find" lack of probable cause, Hennepin County District Judge Kevin Burke ruled. "I greatly appreciate Judge Burke's sensitivity to the damage that can be done to a person's reputation when they are wrongly charged," Culpepper said. Burke denied a motion to dismiss charges against running back Moe Williams. His trial is scheduled for April 18. The other two players charged, cornerback Fred Smoot and tackle Bryant McKinnie, weren't part of Tuesday's ruling. Their next hearings were scheduled for Thursday.
Titans: Tennessee told Steve McNair it doesn't want him working out in its building until his contract is reworked, the quarterback's agent said Tuesday. McNair was told to go home Monday when he showed up at the team's headquarters for the start of the third week in the Titans' offseason conditioning program. The team's general counsel had called agent Bus Cook earlier Monday and informed him McNair would be told to leave. A team trainer told the 11-year veteran to leave, Cook said. "You tell the guy who's the mainstay of the organization, the leader, to get out, that he's not wanted, that's pretty rough," Cook said. "I don't know what Steve will do or won't do. I imagine he would have a hard time going back over there." McNair, the NFL's 2003 co-MVP, is due $9 million in salary in 2006 -- but his salary cap number is $23.46 million.
Texans: Eric Moulds agreed to a contract with Houston and said the Texans have worked out a trade to acquire him from Buffalo. "Yeah, it's done," said Greg Johnson, Moulds' personal adviser. "I'm ecstatic. I'm relieved, happy and thankful that all parties came to an agreement." Moulds, who had the Bills' permission to seek a trade, agreed to a four-year, $14 million contract that includes a $5 million signing bonus. It's not clear what the Texans traded to Buffalo, but it's believed to be a fourth- or fifth-round pick in this month's draft. The Texans declined to confirm the deal for the wide receiver. A 10-year veteran, Moulds had two years left on his contract with Buffalo, but had vowed not to return to the team after he twice rejected the Bills' demands that he accept a significant pay cut last month.
Associated Press
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