Ricky Williams has walked away from football and everybody is angry. Dolphin fans want his once dreadlocked head and management just wants him to reconsider. There were multiple reasons Ricky gave for his early retirement, but all the focus has fallen on a simple plant know as Cannabis Sativa. Here is the story from a rare point of view. Note to the easily offended; please take this as a tongue-in-cheek article and also get a life.
By Ryan McGowan
There it was, the unmistakable trademark fist-pump after the last out was recorded, that he would later reveal was more to mask his fear of failure than to show up his opponents. The team in white ran onto the field and the crowd erupted in jubilation. The Eck had done it again, had finished off a big win one more time, the ultimate Omega to a host of various Alphas.
It’s that time of year again. When baseball’s general managers frantically call eachother looking for a trade that will drive their team into the playoffs. A time when battles for divisions are either down to the wire or teams are far in front. Even a time when Paul LoDuca and Guierrmo Mota sit in the Dodger clubhouse before a battle with the second place Padres crying.
A questionable move by first year Dodger GM Paul Depodesta sent lights out set up pitcher Mota, right fielder Encarnacion and Dodger fan favorite and all star catcher Paul LoDuca to the Florida Marlins. All this for starting pitcher Brad Penny, first baseman Hee Seop Choi and a minor league pitcher. Say it ain’t so Depodesta, say it ain’t so.
From the masters to the mimics
Thursday, July 29, 2004, is a gorgeous day here in the Hub of the Universe, Boston, Massachusetts. Unlike yesterday where I braved the rain, security, and the supposed transportation nightmare of the Democratic National Convention to attend a rally at the Charlestown Navy Yard, today is a beautiful, sunny day. The birds along Commonwealth Avenue are chirping, the flowers in the Public Garden have never looked more radiant, and the golden Bulfinch dome of the State House is shining triumphantly in the sun (when it is not being obscured by green-clad snipers armed with machine guns). The weather seems to be metaphorically representative of this most anticipated of moments, the long awaited day when hometown Senator John F. Kerry of Beacon Hill steps to the podium at the Fleet Center and delivers a speech accepting his party’s nomination for President of the United States.
So, Ricky, are you happy now? You had one hell of a career, a great city to play for, and millions of adoring fans screaming your name. And now you have nothing. You left behind your great career, your great city, and your great fans all for some addictive and deadly grass you dope heads smoke because you have nothing better to do with your lives. Go ahead Ricky, smoke your weed, connect with your true self, and leave everything behind that you worked so hard to achieve. Just don’t come crying back to us when you realize that your misconceived sense of euphoria has left you because you ran out of dope to burn.
This NFL off-season has had its share of big stories. First we had the Terrell Owens fiasco. His agent reportedly screwed him out of becoming an unrestricted free agent by not submitting the proper paperwork on time. He then seeks a trade, but gets traded to a team he doesn’t want to play for, the Ravens. Then he forces a trade to the grateful Eagles. The Eagles desperately needed to make a move like this. With T.O. on board, a Super Bowl could finally become a reality for a team that has faced so much disappointment the last three seasons. If that doesn’t work for them, then what will?
It’s easy to become philosophical when you think of Ricky Williams.
Oh, I’m sure people will have their theories about Williams. Some accuse him of being a pothead, and I definitely agree that this is widely accepted in the NBA, but it’s beyond that. Others, like the fantasy freaks, call him lazy and selfish. The masses will call him an unknown, who believes that he is beyond football.
He just wants want to do something more than carrying a football. (Sounds a little like unselfish Pat Tillman.)
And he might be a saint for it (not the New Orlean kind).
We’re celebrating the start of training camp by starting the first Sportscolumn NFL Ticket Contest. It’s a simple contest, you can win 2 tickets to any NFL regular season game in November or December by just using the forums. More details can be found here: http://forums.sportscolumn.com/viewtopic.php?p=1680.
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The five year rebuilding program used to be the norm in the NFL, but not anymore. Any coach trying to sell the fans on a lengthy rebuilding process will be gone quicker than it takes The Donald to quip “You’re fired!” NFL teams in the new millennium can watch the playoffs from home one year and find themselves in the Super Bowl the next season. Trying to predict that Cinderella team is where it gets tricky. I took a stab at what teams could surprise in 2004, but I’m sure everybody has their own favorites.