With a 5:30 p.m. team meeting called by Steelers coach Bill Cowher looming, Bettis and teammate Hines Ward were temporarily stranded yesterday in a loading dock area of the Renaissance Center Marriott. By the time they finished the first of their weeklong media obligations leading up to Super Bowl XL, including an NFL Network interview with former Steeler Rod Woodson, the van carrying teammates Alan Faneca, Deshea Townsend, Casey Hampton and James Farrior had left for the team hotel in suburban Pontiac without them.
The search for alternative transportation for Bettis and Ward was complicated when a van carrying Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and running back Shaun Alexander, who had come to the downtown hotel to take their turn in the media spotlight, was involved in a fender bender at the same loading dock, temporarily blocking the exit. A security gate crashed down on the front of the vehicle, pinning the bumper against the tires.
"I never thought we'd be using our air bags," Hasselbeck joked as he and Alexander traded embraces with Bettis and Ward.
"I hope they don't try to put us in that van," Ward said, giggling.
A Detroit policeman saved the day, rushing Bettis and Ward back to Pontiac for the team meeting and then a quiet dinner with some teammates.
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Thanks for posting. The picture of what actually transpired is rapidly forming in my mind. I suspect that the real culprit is none other than...Kordell Stewart!