Don’t feel Blue

O’Hara gives Ward leg to stand on

Giants running back Derrick Ward is on the mend from a broken left leg and is sure he will be ready to go well before training camp in late July.

Following his injury, Ward learned something special about his teammate, center Shaun O’Hara. Many times the players who say the most and get loads of face time on television are thought to be the leaders of a team, but the true measure of leadership comes behind closed doors. Ward found that out following Super Bowl XLII. Ward had surgery, missed the entire playoff run and, while thrilled with the championship, was confused and frustrated about where he fit in. Ward wasn’t sure if his teammates would view him as a real contributor, but his fears were allayed as the team returned home from Arizona when O’Hara welcomed him back in.

“He took me aside right after they came back from the Super Bowl,” Ward told The Post’s Paul Schwartz. “He said, ‘You know, if it wasn’t for you, we probably wouldn’t be in this situation, the way you filled in for [Brandon Jacobs] and became part of the 1-2 punch when B.J. returned. It was good to hear my teammate tell me I was a big part of the contribution that won the Super Bowl.”

Amazing Gracie

IFL trainer Renzo Gracie (below) is getting in his flying now before American Airlines starts charging $15 for checked luggage. Grazie kept the international in International Fight League last week, logging almost 35,000 air miles between New York and Japan over a five-day stretch. The Manhattan-based IFL trainer and world champion spent last week in Tokyo, where he guided cousin and rising star Roger Gracie to a huge upset win at the Shooto-tournament.

The trainer then flew back to New York to be in the corner for Dan Miller of Sparta, N.J., who pulled an upset to win the IFL middleweight crown from Ryan McGivern at Mohegan Sun. Grazie then got back on the plane back to Japan to commentate and train several other fighters for Monday night’s DEEP 35 event in Tokyo. Not finished, Gracie returned to New York to sign autographs and show fight moves to troops Wednesday night at the Hard Rock as part of Fleet Week. At least he got some free peanuts.

Strong Man meal

“The American Champ,” a three-pound behemoth sandwich, was unveiled this week at the legendary Carnegie Deli in honor of America’s Strongest Man, Derek Poundstone. According to Poundstone, the sandwich – which consists of bologna, ham, pastrami, roast beef, salami, turkey, American cheese, Swiss cheese, muenster cheese, cole slaw, lettuce and tomato on rye – “weighed a ton and should be considered as an event in June.”

Poundstone will be competing at the World’s Strongest Man Super Series at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden on June 21. It’s not certain whether or not the sandwich will be making an appearance.

Book has some juice

Any aspects of the steroid controversy in sports have become tired and easy to tune out. That’s why filmmaker Christopher Bell’s documentary on the topic, “Bigger, Stronger, Faster,” is remarkable.

Bell, from Poughkeepsie, studies the steroid controversy from many angles – including a look at his two brothers who are steroid users – in his riveting new film. He questions why he chose not to use the drugs, despite his desire to appear like his childhood heroes Hulk Hogan, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Bell interviews subjects ranging from congressmen to disgraced sprinter Ben Johnson. He provides a thorough study on whether the media has blown the steroid problem in sports out of proportion and looks at the American culture that leads many people to feel inadequate and search for ways to cut corners.

The film opens Friday in select theaters.

Suitors scared off

Maria Sharapova is among the lead characters in the new book “Tennis Confidential II,” a sequel to Paul Fein’s 2001 original that was a behind-the-scenes look at pro tennis. Sharapova claims she doesn’t have a boyfriend because her domineering father, Yuri, “scares off men.” Sharapova, who has a tenacity for tennis, rarely gets offended by remarks about her sex symbol image.

“Even when I call her a dumb blonde,” says coach Robert Lansdorp, “she just laughs and says, ‘Oh, Robert.’ She never gets upset.”