*** Rumor Around the League *** ricky williams wins appeal

[Clash of the Titans 1]

http://www.eastcoastsportsnews.com/2006Draft.html

 

The latest NFL News and Draft Rumors including prospect information Updated Daily!

 

The latest Draft news and rumors involving the Saints, Cowboys, Packers, Broncos, Steelers and Dolphins

 

 

04/25...Talk around the league is heating up with just 4 days to go before the Draft and here's the latest...The New Orleans Saints have confirmed that several teams have contacted them with interest in the Saints second overall pick in the Draft but none of the teams offered the Saints enough for the team to consider trading the pick...the Green Bay Packers held their pre-draft media meeting on Monday and the team stated that they will trade WR Javon Walker for fair compensation...

 

the Broncos, Eagles and three other unnamed teams have expressed interest in Walker with the Broncos being the front-runners at this time...elsewhere...the league is supposed to decide the fate of Dolphins Rb Ricky Williams today and the word around the league is Williams has won his appeal and will be dealt by the Dolphins either before or during the Draft...the Broncos once again appear to be the front runner for Williams and have extra picks in the second and third rounds...the Dolphins are without a second round pick in the upcoming Draft and have just two picks in day one...elsewhere...Dallas Owner Jerry Jones stated that the Cowboys will be looking to trade down in the first day of the Draft to land a fourth round pick...the 'Boys don't have a fourth round pick of their own...Jones also hinted that the team will be looking at players on the defensive side of the ball in the first round of the Draft...and last but not least...the Steelers held their pre-draft media meeting on Monday and director of operations Kevin Colbert stated that the Steelers will be willing to move up in the Draft for a player they covet...the Steelers have 10 picks in the Draft and want to use the extra picks as trade-bait...the Steelers should have no trouble finding a trading partner because their are several teams that want to move down on the first day of the Draft.

 

free the big rasta man and let him run and dance

[XToday 0]

If more than 2 rumors listed here prove true, I will visit this site regularly. But for now, I am dubious.

[eefflrat 0]

If more than 2 rumors listed here prove true, I will visit this site regularly. But for now, I am dubious.

Well this is one that won't come true:

 

Dolphins halfback Ricky Williams lost his appeal with the NFL for violating the substance abuse policy and will be ineligible for the 2006 season.

 

 

The appeal was of his fourth violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy, a ruling that places his football career in jeopardy.

 

 

Two of the sources said that Williams, who has received a year-long suspension from the league, was told of the ruling earlier Tuesday. This will mark the second time in three years that Williams will sit out a full season. Williams missed the entire 2004 campaign when he abruptly retired, only days before the start of training camp that summer, following his third violation of the substance abuse policy.

 

 

"I'm disappointed with the decision but I respect it," Williams said in a statement issued through the Dolphins. "I'm proud of my association with the National Football League and look forward to returning to the Dolphins in 2007."

 

 

Williams can apply for reinstatement to the league after one year. He will not be allowed to train at the Dolphins facility for the next year.

 

 

But even if he were to be reinstated in 2007, Williams would return as a 30-year-old running back who had appeared in just 12 games in three years. Life is difficult enough for a running back in the NFL once he turns 30. It would be especially difficult for Williams, given the rust he would have accumulated. And there are no guarantees that he will even want to resume his career when eligible for reinstatement.

 

 

The four-time 1,000-yard rusher returned to the Dolphins in 2005, served a four-game suspension for his past drug-related offenses and forfeited an additional four game checks as part of the sanctions against him. He then ran for 743 yards and six touchdowns while serving as the backup to rookie tailback Ronnie Brown, the team's first-round pick. Williams played in 12 games and started three of them.

 

 

League officials have yet to comment on the resolution to Williams' appeal, which was heard April 10 in a session presided over by league counsel Jeffrey Pash. There had been no indication of when a resolution might come on Williams' appeal, but in the hearing, the Dolphins requested an expedited decision. That was because Miami wanted to go into the draft the weekend with a clear picture of their tailback situation.

 

 

Decisions on such appeals can often take months, but the league clearly viewed the Williams situation and the proximity to the draft as a mitigating circumstance and made a quicker determination.

 

 

According to various reports, Williams tested positive, likely in December toward the end of the 2005 season, for a substance banned by the league. In at least three other violations, Williams tested positive for marijuana. Several sources have claimed that the substance in the latest positive test was not marijuana.

 

 

In the lengthy appeals hearing, it is believed that attorney David Cornwell, who represented Williams, claimed that the positive test was inconsistent with his client's behavior over the past year. A former league counsel, Cornwell helped craft the NFL's substance abuse guidelines, is eminently familiar with the policy and has represented many players in the past in the appeals process.

 

 

One of the witnesses who testified in support of Williams in the appeal was Dolphins coach Nick Saban.

 

 

For his career, Williams, the first-round draft choice of the New Orleans Saints who was traded to Miami in 2002, has rushed for 7,097 yards and 47 touchdowns on 1,757 carries. The former University of Texas star has appeared in 82 games and started 73 times.

 

 

The Dolphins recently re-signed backup tailbacks Sammy Morris and Travis Minor, but neither figures to provide them the kind of productivity that Williams did in 2005.

 

 

Information from ESPN.com senior writers Len Pasquarelli and John Clayton contributed to this report.

[Captian America 0]

Yea as Barney Fife would say let's nip that in the bud Andy.

[football_scooter 0]

Way to go, Clash...great dramatic return to FFT.

[phillybear 365]

Way to go, Clash...great dramatic return to FFT.

 

He never really left. He is a lurker.