May 17
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Former Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams, who retired from the NFL earlier this offseason, kept a low profile during his one season with the Baltimore Ravens. But now that Williams has walked away from football -- for forever, he swears -- he has used his celebrity to speak out against the way the NFL is addressing its concussion crisis. Williams, who rushed for 444 yards and two touchdowns last season and eclipsed the 10,000-yard mark for his career, appeared on Tuesday's episode of ESPN's "Dan Le Batard is Highly Questionable" to discuss his take on concussions, and the 34-year-old believes there is no link between the sport of football and head trauma. Early in the interview,"
August 9
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Dave Hyde
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This is a strange column to write about Ricky Williams, because there's nothing strange about it. No massage he's giving. No meditation class he's leading. Nothing about a four-day hike in the Peruvian mountains to Machu Picchu. There's only the expected news of Ricky leaving town after signing with Baltimore, thus ending the most fascinating run by an athlete in South Florida history and concluding a good life lesson for all of us. People change. That's the lesson here. And it's not just Ricky who changed over the last decade, though there's some good symbolism that he arrived in dreadlocks, went through a homeless-beard stage and leaves town bald. It's also you who changed. It's me. It's"
July 21
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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When Sean Pamphilon completed "Run Ricky Run," – the documentary about Ricky Williams that appeared on ESPN as part of the network's "30-for-30" series – Pamphilon felt good about what he'd created. He had portrayed Williams in a way rarely before seen. He'd helped his audience better understand Williams, the enigmatic Miami Dolphins free agent running back who spoke openly in the documentary about his tumultuous past and about his temporary, partly self-imposed exile from the NFL. "I'm very proud of that film – I love it," Pamphilon said recently. Except there was one problem: He had so much more material – far more than the 50 minutes allotted for "Run Ricky Run." Which brings Pamphilon,"
June 30
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Ricky Williams turned 34 last month yet he might be feeling a bit like a younger man. That's because he's finally a free agent – something he has been waiting for, he said, recently, since 1999 – and he's anxious to find which teams might suit him, and vice versa, on the open free agent market. In case you missed it, Williams was on with Sid Rosenberg last week on WQAM. You can check out the complete interview on the station's website right here. The two talked about a variety of topics: Williams' potential future with the Dolphins, his relationship with Dolphins coach Tony Sparano, what Williams is looking for in the future. Of course, Williams created a bit of a stir not long ago when he"
April 15
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Dolphins free-agent running back Ricky Williams said on WQAM's The Sid Rosenberg Show on Thursday that things changed last year and with a new offensive coordinator the team might not want to bring back Ronnie Brown or himself. He also said if the Dolphins make him a fair offer it would be hard for him to leave Miami. "I think there is always situations and I think Ronnie and I have had some success doing what we been doing here the past couple years, but I think things changed last year," Williams said. "I think we are not the same offense we were two two years ago. I think new offensive coordinator. I think they might want to go in different direction. If Dolphins really want me t o stay"
March 23
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano admits his team has a very detailed plans on how they will address the tailback position. He just doesn't intend on sharing them. But the way Sparano talked Tuesday during breakfast at the NFL owners meeting it's possible that we can connect the dots a bit considering I left our hour-long session with tailback on the brain. Dot 1: Sparano confessed the Dolphins will remain a ground-and-pound team, and doesn't care what anyone thinks about it. Dot 2: It seems the likelihood BOTH free agents, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams will be back in 2011 are slim. And it doesn't really sound like Sparano's excited about re-signing either veteran. Dot 3: Sparano"
January 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Once, the R&R Express steamed so stylishly through helpless NFL defenses, chewing up real estate, piling up wins and imitators. Over the four full seasons of Ricky and Ronnie (2005, 2008-10), this double-barrelled weapon produced nearly 8,000 total yards and 55 touchdowns, rushing and receiving. Now, sadly, it seems the tired old train, no longer as shiny as it used to be, has wheezed into the station for the final time. Most had suspected as much all season as the Dolphins' rushing attack slumped into sub-mediocrity, but the events of the past few days have brought some much-needed clarity for a pair of aging free agents. It's not just Ronnie Brown who is on the outs after the Dolphins"
January 4
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Ricky Williams wasn't happy all year. That much was obvious just from watching him sit at his locker or in a massage chair during open media periods, glowering at anyone who walked past. There were times after games, even victories, when he could be heard complaining softly to confidants about the way he was being used. And while he and Ronnie Brown may like each other personally, this media-fed notion that Williams was perfectly happy splitting carries with Ronnie even as Williams outperformed him by a wide margin, carry after carry, was hogwash. Monday night, making his weekly (paid) appearance with Sid Rosenberg on WQAM-560, Ricky finally unloaded as he heads toward free agency and,"
December 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The math doesn't add up. Ricky Williams has consistently been the Dolphins' better runner behind this lackluster offensive line, but each week he's played second fiddle to Ronnie Brown, getting fewer opportunities. Sunday's 10 carries for 48 yards again proves Williams' straight-ahead approach is more suited for this offensive line than Brown's tap-dancing style, which accounted for 50 yards on 16 carries. Their season averages — Williams at 4.5 per carry and Brown at 3.8 — aren't even close. Yet it's Brown, who is averaging 49 rushing yards per game and is on pace to rush for few than 800 yards this season, who gets the bulk of the carries for Miami's stagnant running game, which averages"
November 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Dave Hyde
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When the Dolphins' practice ended, I looked for Ricky Williams. There was nothing specific to ask him. But he's having a subtly good season, mentioned recently it might be his last year, and I joke with friends that when I'm tired of talking sports, I interview Ricky. He sat at his locker flanked by boxes and pamphlets. As the Dolphins' union representative, there's always something being delivered to him to pass along to teammates. There also was Cormac McCarthy's book "The Road" in his locker. Ricky's a big reader, which surprises even him, considering he read only two complete books before he was 26. Hey, people change. His current favorite is Catherine MacCoun's "On Becoming An"
November 1
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Seven weeks, 27 quarters, 180 carries. Choose your favorite mind-blowing quantifier. That's how long it had been since any Miami Dolphin had crossed the goal line with a rushing touchdown. "Hard to believe," Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said after Sunday's 22-14 win over the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. "It's been a grind." So when Ricky Williams banged his way in from the 1 with 11:15 left to play, slipping in underneath Bengals linebacker Dhani Jones, it hardly mattered that a failed replay challenge muted the initial celebration. After waiting the equivalent of nearly seven full games for something as simple as a rushing touchdown, the Dolphins (4-3) were just relieved to end one of"
September 13
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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As running back tandems go, the Dolphins' duo of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams is unusual, and not simply because they're closer friends than most men who are in competition for carries. They, unlike many other duos, are subtly rather than drastically different in style, which means that it usually doesn't matter much who takes the ball when, as much as that someone can take the Dolphins to victory. "It's really just keeping them fresh," Tony Sparano said of the carry distribution. Sunday, Brown was featured early, running hard and well. Williams was featured late, taking eight of the final nine carries after Brown ripped off a 17-yard run. Would Brown have finished off the Bills on the"