November 11
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Dave Hyde
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The running back with the big numbers pulled the baseball cap down tight as the TV cameras came on and the notepads opened. Someone said, "Ronnie, can you say how ..." "I'm Ricky," Ricky Williams said. "Right, sorry," the reporter said. "Don't worry, even the coaches mix us up," Williams said. "Ricky, Ronnie, Ronnie, Ricky. They're doing it all the time." It was Ricky's turn to be called on Sunday. Finally. You could hear the sense of relief in his voice over this. If there's one recent change in the man who's always changing, it's that he wants the ball more than the handful of times he has been getting it. For years, he was at the other extreme, feeling like the team was harnessed to ..."
November 10
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Dave Hyde
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The running back with the big numbers pulled the baseball cap down tight as the TV cameras came on and the notepads opened. Someone said, "Ronnie, can you say how ..." "I'm Ricky," Ricky Williams said. "Right, sorry," the reporter said. "Don't worry, even the coaches mix us up," Williams said. "Ricky, Ronnie, Ronnie, Ricky. They're doing it all the time." It was Ricky's turn to be called on Sunday. Finally. You could hear the sense of relief in his voice over this. If there's one recent change in the man who's always changing, it's that he wants the ball more than the handful of times he has been getting it. For years, he was at the other extreme, feeling like the team was harnessed to ..."
October 2
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Baseball has Manny Ramirez and the Dolphins have Ricky Williams. You never know what either will say at any given moment. On Wednesday, Williams, a San Diego native and high school legend, entertained the Chargers media via a conference call. A few days after saying he was tempted to smoke marijuana during the three-day bye week break, Williams said that, "younger people'' look to him as, "sort of a folk hero.'' "When I travel outside the state most of the time the younger people will say that they respect me a lot for standing up in what I believe in,'' Williams said via conference call. "I'm sort of folk hero. People that think negative about me are not going to come up to my face and ..."
September 22
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Rodney Harrison has developed a reputation as one of the NFL's most physical -- some would say dirtiest -- players. After Sunday's game, the Patriots safety called out an opponent: Dolphins running back Ricky Williams. Harrison was angry about the first play of the fourth quarter, when Ronnie Brown sprinted 62 yards with a direct snap. The officials called Williams for a dead-ball personal foul for chop-blocking Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, an infraction offset by Vrabel's unnecessary roughness penalty. Brown's touchdown stood, giving the Dolphins a 35-13 lead."
September 15
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ethan J. Skolnick
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In the opener, Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown inexplicably spent most third downs on the sidelines. In the second game, they spent a few together on the field. "I liked it," Williams said of the new personnel grouping, which resulted in his 8-yard run on its first use. "It's a good package." Unfortunately, the running game didn't produce many more good outcomes. Williams and Brown now have carried 38 times for 100 yards in two games. That's 2.6 yards per carry. That's ugly. Tony Sparano said the low rushing total "wasn't a concern at all" because it was a product of the early deficit and need to throw. "I don't think there's a problem with the running game," Williams said. "We're not ..."
September 11
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Ricky Williams said the $8.1 million he owes the Dolphins from his sudden retirement in 2004 wasn't brought up in his recent negotiation for a one-year extension. And that, he figures, was for a reason. "I assume I'm not going to have to pay it,'' he said. That was his read of it not being brought up? "Yes,'' he said. Asked why he thought it would be forgiven, he mentioned the new regime led by Bill Parcells. "I assume they want to keep me happy,'' he said last Friday, before a source said the Dolphins hadn't forgiven Williams of the money. So does he owe $8.1 million? Maybe. Will the Dolphins demand he repay? Maybe not. Williams, 31, negotiated his own contract extension a couple of weeks ..."
September 10
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Running back Ricky Williams didn't wait for a call back from his longtime agent, Leigh Steinberg, before negotiating a contract extension with the Dolphins last month. Williams, 31, was slated to earn the veteran minimum $730,000, but now will also receive an additional $93,000 roster bonus for every game he plays this year, which should net him about $2.2 million. He was given an additional year for approximately $3.3 million in 2009, with a potential for more if he reaches performance incentives. However, Williams, 31, still owes the Dolphins an $8.1 million judgment and that wasn't broached in the extension, according to a source. Although it's unlikely, the Dolphins could garnish ..."
September 8
Miami Herald
columnist Armando Salguero
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Before the Dolphins fell in love with their tight ends and undrafted free agents, they did everything they could to make us believe their running backs were not only good, but the foundation of the offense and one of the team's unquestionable strengths. Ronnie Brown, we were told, was recovering wonderfully from last year's knee injury and was ready for a solid season. Ricky Williams was so good the Dolphins recently gave him a contract extension as reward for an offseason in which he was perhaps the team's best player. And the two players in combination talked about being twin 1,000-yard rushers, joining a historic club that includes Miami all-timers Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris. Then ..."
September 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Dave Hyde
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When last on the edge of an opening day, Ricky Williams dressed only in white for purity, hadn't shaved for a year as a lesson in vanity and wanted to wear No. 27 because it was a multiple of nine. His studies in numerology showed nine was the perfect number. "A phase I went through," he calls that time two summers ago. "Now I'm more comfortable with who I am." Now he generally wears any color except red, which represents "vitality" and is for a, "flashier, more extroverted personality than I am," he says. Now he has the clean-shaven face and head. Now he's given up on the multiple-of-nine jersey idea, though he flirted with getting No. 44 this year. "I wore 44 in eighth grade and had a ..."
September 2
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Ricky Williams made it clear he plans to end his career with the Dolphins, even though his new contract extension only carries him into the 2009 season. Not only is the 31-year-old tailback fond of the Dolphins' new coaches and front office, but his children are settled into their schools, and Williams is working to finish up his bachelor's degree at Nova Southeastern. "I'm at a point in my career where I'm looking for some stability," Williams said. "Hopefully every time we get to this point in the season they'll come to me and say, 'We really don't want you to be a free agent, so will you sign another deal?'" Williams is taking pre-algebra and writing courses to finish up the credits he ..."