Ricky Williams... AGAIN!

[noel]

A. I understand people smoking pot and enjoying pot.

B. I understand having ungodly talent and making insane jack.

C. I don't understand why you'd jeopardize B for A.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/stor ... NHeadlines

[Midnyte_Ragebringer]

*yawn* Wow.....I'm so shocked...*yawn*

[Boogahz]

The shocker is...what? This is normal behavior for him.

[Wulfran]

Sooooo... does this mean he'll be back in Toronto again this CFL season?

[noel]

Who's surprised?

[masteen]

I have never permanently stopped smoking weed, but I've paused long enough to pass drug tests, and those sure as fuck weren't for 2 mil/year jobs.

p.s. The truly lawl part is that he still owes the Fins $8.6m for the contract he broke by not playing in 2004.

[Al]

I got a good chuckle out of this when I saw the headline in the morning paper.

[Asheran Mojomaster]

I never understood this. Ok, now if its was roids or amphetamines of some sort I could see this. I mean roids definately give an unfair advantage, and I am willing to bet someone on meth could run faster than someone not on it (and have a heart attack as well) but what the hell is weed doing? If he can smoke a blunt then run the ball for a touchdown, why not?

Its not giving him an unfair advantage. Its not like he is an engineer, architech, or something like that where he has to do a lot of in depth thinking where weed definately could be detrimental. It is illegal though I guess, but plenty of players get away with much worse.

[noel]

It's fucking up the league's image. It's about advertising dollars. That's why they've always cracked down on substance abuse and now they're cracking down on criminals. It has nothing to do with people smoking pot, and everything to do with how players smoking pot affects the league's ability to sell advertising.

I realize there's a subculture in the US that thinks smoking weed is cool, but the majority of people don't and the majority of people is who advertisers are targetting.

[Deward]

Actually the majority of people support the decriminalization of pot and something like 85% support medical marijuana. The government makes too much money by wasting tax payer dollars on scare tactics and misguided programs to see the light though. If those lazy pot smokers would get out and vote then things would likely change.

[Boogahz]

Actually the majority of people support the decriminalization of pot and something like 85% support medical marijuana.

I keep hearing and seeing this, and I have always wondered...the majority of what people?

[Boogahz]

ESPN says:

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has decided to reinstate Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams after a suspension that lasted 18 months because of Williams' violation of the league's substance abuse policy, sources told ESPN.

The Dolphins have been notified of the commissioner's decision. It is unknown if the team will welcome him back but it is expected they will have a two-week roster exemption to make that decision.

Williams met last week with league administrators who had raised concerns even though doctors at a Boston-area treament center where Williams spent a good portion of four months were very supportive for his reinstatement, sources said.

The administrators of the substance abuse policy were satisfied with Williams' response to their concerns, sources said, clearing the path for Goodell to reinstate him.

Williams also had written Goodell a personal letter of appeal that accompanied the medical data regarding his treatment since he had a positive test in April, which extended his one-year suspension.

[Sylvus]

Man, 4 months in rehab for smoking pot? That's ridiculous.

[Sueven]

Sweet! I'm excited he's back.

Ricky Williams is one of my ten favorite football players.

I think it started when he quit the Dolphins, and I read a column which said "if Ricky Williams wants to go smoke blunts the size of goalposts on a beach in Thailand for the rest of his life, let him." And I thought to myself: Damn, that does sound pretty sweet.

Didn't work out, but hey!

[Wulfran]

Sylvus, he's gonna play for the dolphins: how exciting can it be on an 0-9 team? Not like he's gonna carry them into the playoffs and with his previous "I'm gonna retire because I can...er, wait I wanna keep playing and collect more phat cheques" attitude, I wonder how motivated he will be.

As for the pot thing, intuitively I have a hard time with an 18 month suspension for smoking grass: its not a performance enhancer by any stretch. Violation of the law and thus a violation his "keep your nose clean" clauses on his contract, sure, but 18 months for using a drug the vast majority of the NFL's viewing populace has at least experimented with seems excessive. In one regard, I can appreciate them not wanting to add a(nother) bad role model for kids, with regard to a player openly disregarding the law but fucking people get shorter suspensions for felonies.

[Kluden]

I'm fairly sure the 18 month part comes from multiple times of being a stupid ass and getting caught...the fact that they are letting him try again is just ridiculous. I believe he already has 3 strikes?

[Boogahz]

That was a quick season, but I think having it end due to an injury is better than violating league policies again:

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content ... notes.html

Williams' season over after just six carries

Torn muscle ends season for Williams

MIAMI — Ricky Williams' latest comeback lasted one game.

The Miami Dolphins running back will miss the rest of the season with a torn chest muscle, according to his agent, Leigh Steinberg.

Williams was hurt Monday at Pittsburgh, when he played in his first game in nearly two years. He returned following a 1½-year suspension for his latest violation of the NFL drug policy.

Steinberg said rehab for the injury will take five months and said Williams expects to be ready for next season. "It's sad given how hopeful Ricky had been about his return to football and given the amount of effort Ricky had put into his rehabilitation. But he's optimistic and hopeful for the future," Steinberg said.

With a winless record, the Dolphins were desperate for help and eager to showcase Williams in hopes of increasing his trade value. Coach Cam Cameron decided to play Williams only a week after he joined practice.

"My No. 1 concern coming into the game, when you hurry a guy back, obviously he could get hurt," Cameron said after the game.

Williams was injured in the second quarter Monday on a play when he fumbled. After being tackled, he was accidentally stepped on while chest-down on the ground.

Williams left the game, returned briefly and departed for good after one more carry. He finished with 15 yards in six carries, and the Dolphins lost 3-0 on a last-minute field goal.

[Boogahz]

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content ... ricky.html

Ricky Williams ready for football - finally
Horns' former Heisman winner says he's excited for chance with Parcells' new Dolphins regime
By Randy Riggs

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF


Thursday, May 15, 2008

A couple of weeks ago, Ricky Williams declined an invitation from Cedric Benson to come to town and spend a Saturday on his boat on Lake Travis.

Yeah, that Saturday and that boat.

So you think Williams is glad he missed that particular day at the lake, which ended in Benson's much-publicized arrest?

Think again.

"I think if I had come down, things might have worked out a little bit differently," Williams said Wednesday. "I find I have a calming influence on people I'm around.

"As a high-level athlete, it's just something that's ingrained in me. I always think that if I'm there, things would be different. I can't say how."

One thing that can be said about Williams' professional football career is that it has certainly been different. Williams, who left the University of Texas as the 1998 Heisman Trophy winner and college football's all-time leading rusher, has done it his way — for better or worse.

His NFL career has been interrupted four times by violations of the league's drug policy. He has spent time traveling the world, once living in a tent in Australia, and has studied Ayurveda, an ancient system of medicine from India.

But now at age 30 — he turns 31 next Wednesday — Williams' focus finally seems to be solely on football. He is prepared to embark on the final year of his $730,000 contract (the league minimum for veterans) with the Miami Dolphins, whose new vice president of football operations, Bill Parcells, doesn't have a reputation of tolerance for players who do it their way as opposed to his.

Williams appeared in great shape Wednesday when he made an appearance at a private golf tournament at Lakecliff Country Club near Spicewood, sponsored by Triton Financial. He'll interrupt his four-days-a-week training regimen again late next month when he returns to Austin for the June 26-29 Triton-sponsored Heisman Winners Association Weekend.

Williams will be honored then to mark the 10th anniversary of his Heisman victory. Also being honored are 1958 winner Pete Dawkins of Army and 1983 winner Mike Rozier of Nebraska.

Williams' latest — and likely last — NFL comeback began last year, when he was reinstated after his fourth suspension. In his first game back, Nov. 26 at Pittsburgh, his season ended on his sixth carry when he tore his right pectoral muscle.

"It was difficult walking off that field, knowing that I came so far and it was over that fast," he said. "I wouldn't describe it as frustrating. For me, I took a lot of pride in making it back."

Whether he would make it back with the Dolphins after his surgery, from which he says he has fully recovered, was a matter of considerable doubt — even to him.

Williams knew the no-nonsense Parcells only by reputation. Parcells' first meeting with the Dolphins, who finished 1-15 last season, did nothing to dispel Williams' uncertainty.

"(Parcells) was describing the kind of player he wanted," Williams said. "Honestly, I had doubts if I was going to be that type of player."

To Williams' surprise, Parcells called him into his office after the team meeting and told him he was keeping him on the team to share rushing duties with Ronnie Brown.

"I was expecting him not to talk to me at all," Williams said. "I was expecting to get a letter in the mail saying I was going to be a free agent.

"I like (Parcells) more than I thought I would," added Williams, who had lunch with Parcells last week. "He's really different than I expected. It seems to me his greatest joy is developing true friendships with his players, being a mentor and trying to help people, not just in football but in life."

Balancing life and football has been the great juggling act of Williams' life. With his two small children now sharing his Miami home, he talks fondly of doing parental things, such as attending his 6-year-old son's T-ball games.

He says that he recently has become concerned about his legacy, something that didn't register with him for years despite constant lecturing from his agent, Leigh Steinberg, for 10 years.

"I never understood what he was talking about," Williams said. "One day, it just clicked."

Williams says his legacy "is still a work in progress. It's taken a lot of twists and turns." But now he says he's grown to accept his football legacy and the responsibility that comes with it.

"I never wrestled if whether I liked football. I wrestled with the fact that I'm more than just a football player," he said. "One of the things I was always afraid of was that people would only see me as being a football player."

Earl Campbell, Texas' 1977 Heisman winner, said he's glad to see Williams once again committed to football. Campbell said he told Williams there's nothing he can do about his past adventures and travails.

"But just thank God you're alive today and you can do something about what's happening today," Campbell said he told Williams. "What's going to be important is what you do with Miami tomorrow. Go forward, not backward."

Williams insists that is his plan. He credits it to one thing:

"Time," he said. "You grow up. As you gain years, you gain wisdom and maturity."

[Spankes]

Good for him. I never really cared about ricky or his drama. But, it would be nice to see a guy put his life back on track if he can stick with it.

[Boogahz]

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content ... bohls.html

More mature Williams embracing football
New desire, new zest for leadership
By Kirk Bohls
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, June 27, 2008

Ricky Williams finally wants to play football.

Oh, he has enough saved to make payments on his four-bedroom house in the Miami suburb of Davie that he shares with his fiancée, Kristin Barnes, and two of his three kids, including 6-year-old Prince, who's a dead ringer for his dad.

And Williams will hardly see NFL riches this season because he will make only the league-minimum for veterans ($850,000) in the final season of his contract with the Dolphins.

But after a self-imposed exile from the game, three failed drug tests and the dubious distinction of having wrecked the Dolphins' 2004 season by quitting the team on the eve of training camp, Ricky Williams needs football to bring his family stability and financial security and help make over his reputation as a flaky dopehead.

But does football need him?

Probably not, although with more than 7,000 yards in six seasons and 47 career rushing touchdowns that tie him for 10th among active backs, he has shown he can still be a dominant running back in the NFL. And Miami sure needs a reliable running back because Ronnie Brown is only eight months removed from surgery to repair torn knee ligaments. For that matter, any team coming off a dreadful 1-15 season needs all the healthy bodies it can get, especially a 220-pound one that's rock solid even if it does belong to the only vegetarian in the NFL who's drug-tested three times a week.

But can the Dolphins trust Ricky Williams? Can Roger Goodell? Can anyone?

Who knows.

"I understand that completely," said Williams, the 1998 Heisman Trophy winner, during a candid, 90-minute interview. "I definitely trust myself. It's been a long time (since he has smoked marijuana). Do I miss it? I can't miss it. If you say you miss it, you're going to do it.

"Looking back, I was so dumb. Something had to get out of my system. It's such a stressful job. I should have went up to the head coach and told him what was going on inside of me before it exploded in me. When it did explode, it was too late."

The fuse had been lit long before, starting with Williams' questionable choice of an agent, Master P, who negotiated a ridiculous incentive-laden contract with the Saints. Williams loves Mike Ditka, the coach who pulled off the blockbuster trade that brought him to New Orleans. He doesn't regret dressing up in a wedding gown for a magazine photo shoot or wearing his helmet with the dark visor during interviews because he felt reporters didn't really want to know the real Ricky anyway.

Understanding the real Ricky. Now that's a complicated venture.

Few NFL players wear dull-green moldavite earrings, probably made from a meteorite that landed in Czechoslovakia. Fewer still collect rocks and minerals, read books like Ted Andrews' spiritual "Animal Speak" and plan to pursue a post-football career as an osteopathic physician practicing holistic medicine once he completes the 60 hours he needs for an undergraduate degree from Texas. (Williams completed just five semesters at UT in four years, skipping three semesters to play pro baseball or prepare for the NFL draft.)

Williams has always been an enigma, smarter than many players and curious about everything. Had the Dolphins then-head coach Dave Wannstedt gotten closer to Williams, he said the coach might have been able to talk him out of a sabbatical that took him to Samoa, Fiji and Australia, where he lived in a military barracks for a week and then in a tent.

"I called him to say I didn't think I wanted to play any more. I had to say it three times," Williams said. "He told me he had to sleep on it. We talked the next morning, and he said if he had a son, he would tell him to play. He didn't do a good job. If he had tried to connect with me, it might have made a difference."

Regret — and often, responsibility — isn't really a part of Williams' vocabulary, even though his leaving the Dolphins in the lurch pretty much ended Wannstedt's NFL coaching career and sent the franchise into a 20-44 tailspin from which it has yet to recover.

Williams predicts a much better season than 1-15 for the Dolphins this year and says the team will win "at least nine games." Then he adds, in his own playful manner, "I'm not the quarterback. I can say that."

He also says he and Brown plan to each run for more than 1,000 yards in 2008, a feat that has been accomplished just three times in the NFL, most recently in 1985 when Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack did it for Cleveland. He even ponders a long-shot bid for the Hall of Fame a bit wistfully.

"There's always a chance, I guess," he said, "but I don't think it's going to happen unless I go to two Super Bowls, be the MVP and run for at least 1,500 yards every year."

He'd probably settle for rehabbing a tarnished reputation, although the question remains: Did he waste a potentially brilliant career?

"My initial response is that pisses me off," said Williams, who hopes to play for four more years. "I think it's accurate. Things that are true piss you off the most. People think if you are a pro athlete, that's the only thing you can do. Life is not about maximizing my athletic ability as much as it is maximizing my evolution and growth as a human being."

And he's working on that. He appreciates the directness of Miami's new vice president, Bill Parcells. He says he is already implementing the two-time Super Bowl-winning coach's advice about practicing his cuts by himself and using his stiff-arm.

Parcells has called Williams "a street baller." Parcells noticed during offseason camps that the running back really competed on 18 of 25 plays and said he wants Williams to run with that edge on 18 of 18 plays rather than play 25. The limited workload might prolong Williams' career.

"Physically, I feel 28," he says. "Mentally, I feel I'm 45."

"But 45," he says with a wink, "is the new 30."

The Dolphins are just hoping he's a trustworthy 31.

Here's to hoping he keeps his head on straight while staying healthy