If you ever doubt that America is the land of opportunity, look no farther than Ricky Williams, the running back who is on his fourth or fifth chance at a pro football career with his recent return to the Miami Dolphins.
Williams looks different. He's clean-shaven, from dome to chin. And he sounds a bit different. He's not utterly the vague, navel-gazing guy we had come to know. Last week, he said he wanted to be a football player and that he realized it was what most fulfilled him.
"Someone asked me a question. They said: 'Do you like playing football?' " Williams said. "I thought about it and I thought about it. ... And the next day, I was doing this exercise and I was writing down my ideal paradise moment. And when I really thought about it, [paradise] was playing football."
But when asked if he wanted his Dolphins career to end on a high note (pretty easy question, right?), he said: "It's just going to help me get to where I want to be. I want to get on with my life. I want to go back to school and pursue a profession outside of football. Playing football is the best way for me to get there." bill.ordine@baltsun.com
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