Hines Ward wins 'Dancing With the Stars'

Hines Ward. Winning. Duh.

The great wide receiver of the Pittsburgh Steelers who couldn't get a Super Bowl ring (this year) won the Mirror Ball on Tuesday night's "Dancing With the Stars."

Fair trade? You be the judge -- just not judge Len Goodman, AKA "Dancing with the Stars" hanging judge, who was very grouchy this season (wasn't he, Mr. Ralph Macchio?)

And so it ends, and ends as it should, with the best dancer -- certainly the best athlete -- pulling off a Season 12 win.

The judges almost certainly wanted Disney Channel star Chelsea Kane to win the season. (They definitely weren't in Macchio's corner, but that's yesterday's spilt milk.) And while most viewers probably wanted Ward to win, or 98 percent of those viewers in the Pittsburgh viewing area did, about zero percent of all Jets fans were in his corner. Also yesterday's spilt milk.

In fact, the mini shock: Kane ended up in third place, which is not where she or anyone else expected her to land. Because viewer votes counted for one-half of last night's total, even her score of 89 out of 90 couldn't save her, as good as she undeniably was.

Kirstie Alley? Nothing to be ashamed of at all. She was the season's biggest single surprise, or at least her cartwheels were.