Cop: Ward ran wrong alphabet pattern

ATLANTA, July 12 (UPI) -- Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward flunked the alphabet test after being pulled over in Georgia for suspected drunken driving, his arrest report said.

The report obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said Ward had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol when he was questioned on the side of a DeKalb County highway Saturday, and it went downhill from there.

"I asked him to recite the alphabet from D to X, which he mixed up letters and omitted letters," the arresting officer wrote.

Ward was arrested by a MARTA transit police officer who said Ward was driving his Aston Martin erratically shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday. Ward and his passenger admitted to having a couple of drinks during the evening.

Ward's agent issued a statement this week denying the 2006 Super Bowl MVP had been under the influence. Ward was released on a $1,000 bond Sunday.