Ricky's retirement up in smoke?

After a summer of touring around the world, listening to Pink Floyd, watching Sponge Bob and staring at lava lamps for hours on end, Ricky Williams wants back into the NFL.\nShortly after an arbitrator ruled that Ricky had to pay a cool $8.6 million back to the Dolphins, he announced that he would make an effort to come back to football.\nYes, after blasting the NFL's drug policy and saying that he wouldn't change his lifestyle for a game, he wants to rejoin the Dolphins as early as possible. Ricky now says that football is incredibly important to him and that he would not make the same mistakes he made before, referring to his three positive drug tests. \nIs it me, or does this change of heart seem about as authentic as Lindsay Lohan's chest?\nRicky informed the Dolphins he was retiring in July, just days before the start of training camp, essentially stabbing his team, coach and city in the back. At first it seemed that he was simply burned out on the game, but in subsequent interviews he revealed that he was just a burn out. He said the NFL shouldn't punish players for using recreational drugs because it helps them deal with everyday life. If you ask me, Ricky is a little out of touch; I mean the counter guy at Hardee's making minimum wage would get fired for smoking pot, why should NFL players be any different?\nIt's not like Williams got caught once -- he failed three tests. If you know you are going to be tested eventually and you fail three times, you have a problem. \nRicky is immensely talented and I'm sure some team will invest in him; I just doubt it will be the Dolphins. Many of his teammates have turned their backs on him and just want to move on and forget the whole situation; I doubt they would welcome him with open arms despite their 1-7 record.\nHad Williams simply informed the team at the end of last season that he might retire, they could have tried to sign a decent backup running back just in case. As it is they have had a terrible offense all year mostly due to a quarterback controversy and, of course, difficulty running the ball. \nRicky seems to be really serious about returning to football, although it will not happen this year. He is planning on returning for the 2005 season and he has promised to remain clean. If he wants the world to buy the fact that he is going to quit smoking pot, I think it would be a good idea if he stopped riding around in the Mystery Machine with Scooby and the gang. \nNow to be fair, people make mistakes and they deserve second chances -- and I guess even fourth chances. But Williams plays a sport in which dedication and being a good teammate are monumentally important, and after this fiasco, how could an organization and its players trust him?\nI don't know how committed Williams is to playing football at a Pro Bowl level again, but here's what I do know: His track record and past are against him. He didn't respond well when people questioned his decision making after he retired. He didn't trust his fellow Dolphins enough to confide in them about his problems off the field. And he has 8.6 million reasons to say he wants to play again.\nGiven all that, if I had an NFL team, I wouldn't even get involved in the bidding.