Ricky Williams

Good evening to all,

Tonight I saw on ESPN that Ricky Williams has officially returned to the NFL's Miami Dolphins, heh... I knew that would happen. *LOL For those of you who haven't been following the Ricky story, here's a bit of what's been going on:

*Played as a running back for the University of Texas
*Picked as a top level National Football League
draft pick by the New Orleans Saints
*Had an agent who allowed him to enter the league
at near league minimum pay
*Got a new agent
*Got hurt alot and eventually got traded to Miami
*Did well upon joining the Miami team
*Got a renegotiated contract to 3 million dollars per year
*Failed required drug screening tests
*Suspensions and fines followed the failed drug tests
*Went missing and later said he quit football
*Became a yoga instructor and holistic medicine man
*Lost a judgement that said he owed the team
8.6 million dollars
*Couldn't make that kinda money as a yogie
*Returns to football
*Now makes league minimum pay again
*Still suspended for prior offenses
will not play until week 6 of the season.

That's the general idea about what's been going on, at least as I understood it from the sports news coverage, it's crazy to think of someone as gifted and fortunate as Ol' Rick would throw it all away to fly off to India to practice turning himself into a human pretzel. *LOL I can understand someone one day realizing they need to truly find themselves and what makes them happy, that doesn't always include running real fast and carrying a ball while giants are attempting to squash you like a bug, it's just the drug thing that had me rollin' my eyes at the tv screen when I first heard about this story. In these days of the "I'm no role model" superstar athlete, I believe it's just made too easy for them, they play a game for a living and a good living it is ! Money seemingly falling from trees as a likeable athlete can get numerous lucrative endorsements, they clean up their act a bit when they see those endorsements coming their way, why not do it for the kids who view them as their heroes? It's a much more noble cause than just making a few dollars to buy something shiny or a car or boat or somethin'. Surely as these millionaire athletes were growing up they idolized the sports stars of their youth, now that they've made it to the pinnacle of their sporting career, they attempt to (in an act I can only view as cowardly) bow out of the role model personae. They must not realize just how lucky they are, and owe it to the fans, the kids, and everyone to just do the right thing. I dunno if anyone has seen old Jimi Hendrix interview footage, but Ricky's interview reminded me of that in the way you could tell Jimi was very intelligent, but might have burned out a few bulbs as he experimented with drugs. I guess time will tell as to what happens with this cautionary tale in the making. In a side note, there was another dreadlocked running back from the University of Texas who cleaned up his act prior to his entry into the NFL, he was last seen sporting a short haircut, and swearing to all that he wasn't "another Ricky". Yep, cautionary tale indeed.

** Upon my reading of this blog entry, I noticed that it might have come off as mean spirited, in my attempts at humor, and the points I tried to make, I forgot to say I wish Ricky Williams well in his return. I really do hope that he does well, and has sworn himself off drugs, it would be a shame to see a person with his level of playing talent throw it all away, I guess that's what I should have said all along. At this point Ricky has become a cautionary tale of sorts, but it would be nice to see him prove everyone wrong (myself included). If I had an opportunity to offer some advice to Ricky, it would be for him to simply play the game (both on field and off), get those statistics up, work on gaining endorsements, repay the money owed to the team, and save what he can during the time he's playing, set himself and his family up for a good future before he decides to retire, and live well. That's the happy ending outcome I'd like to see for the Ricky Williams story.