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An athlete with a poet's personality
Toronto Star, Canada - 4 hours ago
... "Ricky's personality is the furthest thing you'd expect from a football player," said former New Orleans Saints head coach Mike Ditka, who traded eight draft ...


Mon, 29 May 2006 06:45:00 GMT

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[Lefty Noob]

Good story about Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams. Very informative. Did you know rhat he nearly flunked out of junior high? That he had been molested by his father as a child (so sad to hear)? That he was once drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies? Fascinating stuff.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Good story about Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams. Very informative. Did you know rhat he nearly flunked out of junior high? That he had been molested by his father as a child (so sad to hear)? That he was once drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies? Fascinating stuff.

Yep...new a lot about him...he also came on a Phillies minor league baseball card...

[ThePundit]

Good article. I truly feel bad for Ricky Williams I think he's a decent person but is just absolutely screwed up. He needs constant monitoring to make sure he stays on his medication for social anxiety disorder.

[Lefty Noob]

Hearing stuff like this really does make you feel bad for the guy. He doesn't really get a fair shake in the media, I guess, because everyone makes fun of his lifestyle but this is the first I've heard about the abuse. Still, he is an odd one... these days, he's a far cry from the young man who befriended Doak Walker while at UT, it seems.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Hearing stuff like this really does make you feel bad for the guy. He doesn't really get a fair shake in the media, I guess, because everyone makes fun of his lifestyle but this is the first I've heard about the abuse. Still, he is an odd one... these days, he's a far cry from the young man who befriended Doak Walker while at UT, it seems.

He has major quirks...and needs a lot of hand holding...but when he ran, he was awesome...he could have been along side the greats by now...

[Lefty Noob]

Looks like he's fixing to run some more... Ricky Williams just signed a deal with the CFL's Toronto Argonauts. The long rumored deal, no official, is for one year and $240,000. He is expected to report to his new team on Sunday. Good for him? Good for the Miami Dolphins?

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Looks like he's fixing to run some more... Ricky Williams just signed a deal with the CFL's Toronto Argonauts. The long rumored deal, no official, is for one year and $240,000. He is expected to report to his new team on Sunday. Good for him? Good for the Miami Dolphins?

Good for all three...Ricky gets to work out his problems while getting in some game time...the CFL gets a feature back, and Miami gets to see how well Ricky still runs...

[Lefty Noob]

Definitely good for the Argos, who essentially get an uber-talented ringer for this season. Bad for the other teams in the CFL, who get to try and gameplan against him. Good for the league. Good for Ricky in that he gets to go work. As for Miami... there's been so much talk about possible injury... how is this any different than sending as guy to NFL Europe, really. The new league will allow him to keep active, keep in shape, develop and maybe even improve. And I believe there is some kind of insurance agreement they reached, so, yeah, it definitely does look like a no-lose situation for the three major parties involved.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Definitely good for the Argos, who essentially get an uber-talented ringer for this season. Bad for the other teams in the CFL, who get to try and gameplan against him. Good for the league. Good for Ricky in that he gets to go work. As for Miami... there's been so much talk about possible injury... how is this any different than sending as guy to NFL Europe, really. The new league will allow him to keep active, keep in shape, develop and maybe even improve. And I believe there is some kind of insurance agreement they reached, so, yeah, it definitely does look like a no-lose situation for the three major parties involved.

I ma with you... I don't understand the injury talk...that's why god invented Lloyd's of London...

[Lefty Noob]

In his first CFL game, Ricky Williams played second string behind John Avery (?) and gained just 7 yards on 4 carries in Toronto's 31-3 loss to Hamilton. Granted, his practice time has been limited, but Williams is better than this, right? Too early to judge after just one game?

[Trashed]

Originally Posted by Gotham Dark Knight

He has major quirks...and needs a lot of hand holding...but when he ran, he was awesome...he could have been along side the greats by now...

Well in 2002 he sure was great. Other than that flashes of greatness. To compare him to a true great like Barry, Emmitt, Walter or Marcus is dangerous because your playing the "coulda, woulda, shoulda" game and the problem with doing that is there is little evidence to back up that type of claim. He had one awesome year on paper. The true greats had far more than that. If you want to shake your head in sorrow and say he could have been in the Dickerson category how about Terrell Davis? Injuries forced him out of the game though not wacky tobacky. I hope Davis cherishes those Superbowl Rings and that MVP because by god he earned them and should have (oops im playing too now!) been in Canton when he finally laid his maginificent career down after like 11 years instead of the small amount we were lucky enough to watch this magnificent, gutty athlete play. Hey guys, im sure you know that Terrell Davis was drafted in the way low rounds unlike Ricky as well. Someone had an eye for talent.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Trashed

I respectfully disagree with that because his last few years in Miami when their line was poor he did nothing. In fact when did he have a season when he was comparable with a great like Payton, Smith, Sanders, Dickerson, etc.? How many times did Ricky Williams make a jawdropping play? Maybe a few times. He was a bust.

come on now Trashed...I have seen the Dolphins give Rickey the ball +40 times on a Monday night game and he single handed carried them to victory. I have seen him have amazing 200 yard plus games...the guy is a first rate talent that I wouldn't mind haivng on my team...he has power and speed...Yes, he is one heck of a flake too...his off field problems are huge...but on the field he is an elite runner.

He will get use to the CFL...its a bit of a different game...he might have to catch a few more passes...but give the boy a break...he is not as bad as you claim.

[Trashed]

Well like I said in 2002 he certainly looked like he was gonna be great but still not in the Payton class. He would have been a very good runningback on a bad team a great one on a great team. Elite? Possibly. Depends on who you compare him too. Not in the caliber of the RBs I mentioned though. That drafting of him was his downfall. If he didnt become THE best of all times then the Saints looked like suckers...it didnt happen so Ricky Williams' name will always be followed with a marijuana joke and a snicker after his mention. Is that sad after reading the article? Yes. Should even teams test for pot use? They dont test for alcohol and Rodman used to go to Dallas Mavericks practices drunk (changing sports, im sorry.) but thats a whole different can of worms. Ricky Williams in my opinion was a very good runningback and a solid MVP candidate in 2002. At least we can see if Ronnie Brown can handle a load now.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Trashed

Well like I said in 2002 he certainly looked like he was gonna be great but still not in the Payton class. He would have been a very good runningback on a bad team a great one on a great team. Elite? Possibly. Depends on who you compare him too. Not in the caliber of the RBs I mentioned though. That drafting of him was his downfall. If he didnt become THE best of all times then the Saints looked like suckers...it didnt happen so Ricky Williams' name will always be followed with a marijuana joke and a snicker after his mention. Is that sad after reading the article? Yes. Should even teams test for pot use? They dont test for alcohol and Rodman used to go to Dallas Mavericks practices drunk (changing sports, im sorry.) but thats a whole different can of worms. Ricky Williams in my opinion was a very good runningback and a solid MVP candidate in 2002. At least we can see if Ronnie Brown can handle a load now.

I like what I see in my man Ronnie Brown...I think he is the real deal...if Miami gets the passing game going this year...he is going to be great....