Canadian Football League News
Around the CFL: Ricky has no intentions of bailing on Argonauts
By Fred Williams Jul 29, 2006, 0:40 GMT
Toronto, ON - Ricky Williams has no intention of bailing on the Toronto Argonauts.
Williams underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his forearm Sunday night, roughly 24 hours after suffering the injury in Toronto's 26-23 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Williams broke the bone when trying brace himself after being tackled.
On Thursday, Williams spoke to reporters for the first time since his operation and said he's staying put.
'I have nowhere to go back to,' he said. 'I have nothing better that I'd be doing than being around the guys here.
'I've dedicated these six months of my life to being an Argonaut, so that's not going to change.'
The 29-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner is projected to miss four to six weeks as a result of the injury, prompting a lot of speculation that Williams' CFL stint was over.
Williams signed a one-year contract with Toronto in May after being suspended for the entire 2006 NFL season by the league following a fourth positive drug test. Williams still has two years remaining on his contract with the Miami Dolphins. Following his injury talk was the Dolphins would try and get Williams out of Canada to recover in Miami, thus ending his stay in the CFL.
'They just sent me flowers and said, 'Get well,'' Williams said of the Dolphins' reaction to his injury. 'It doesn't affect anything past two months, at the most.'
Williams might have the highest profile of any player in the CFL, but his transition to the Canadian game - with its emphasis on passing on a longer, wider field - has been a slow one. He has rushed for 231 yards on 57 carries with Toronto to stand sixth overall in rushing.
Williams can apply for reinstatement into the NFL in the offseason and is expected to resume his career with Miami in 2007.
'We have faith, trust and confidence in the players that we have,' Miami head coach Nick Saban told reporters earlier this week. 'But we also would look if the opportunity presented itself to possibly add depth at that position because we obviously lost a pretty significant player.'
CELEBRATE LATER: Terry Vaughn became the top receiver in CFL history last week, but is putting off any thoughts of celebrating that historic accomplishment.
Vaughn had 10 catches in Hamilton's 41-38 loss last week to Montreal, giving him 978 for his career. That broke the record of 972 held by former Ticat Darren Flutie, the younger brother of former NFL and CFL star Doug Flutie.
'I'm the kind of guy that when I'm done playing it'll mean a great deal to me,' he said during a conference call. 'But right now I'm caught up in how my team is doing.
'I'm more concerned about getting wins. It demonstrates that I'm a durable player. I've been a very good player for a long time. I think that's what I like most about the record.
It is a record that should last a while.
The 34-year-old native of Sumter, S.C., has been a model of consistency throughout his CFL career. He has been a 1,000-yard receiver in each of his 11 seasons in Canada, a league record. However, Vaughn has no intention of slowing down anytime soon.
'I think I can honestly play at a high level for a couple more years,' Vaughn said. 'But a lot of things will dictate whether I do that or not.'
Vaughn said he can see himself staying in football after he's done playing.
'I see myself coaching or going into business of some sort,' he said. 'If I can walk into a coaching job at the college level, I think that's where I'll start.'
BIG BUCKS: Dario Romero is living proof of why CFL players dream of playing in the NFL.
Romero spent the 2001 season with the Edmonton Eskimos before leaving to sign with the Dolphins. Romero played three years in Miami, earning $905,000 over that span.
While that's not exactly huge money by NFL standards, Romero did earn just $32,000 in Canadian funds with Edmonton in 2001.
The six-foot-three, 300-pound Romero was released by Miami in 2005 and didn't play at all last season before returning to the CFL this year with the Montreal Alouettes.
LIONS RELEASE WARREN: The B.C. Lions have done the expected and released running back Antonio Warren.
The Lions made the move official Thursday, but the writing was on the wall last week when Warren didn't accompany the team to its 40-23 win over Calgary at McMahon Stadium. Rookie Joe Smith rushed for 138 yards on 16 carries and scored three touchdowns in Warren's place.
Warren led the CFL in rushing touchdowns last year with 13 and his 16 TDs left him second overall. He was also fourth in the league in combined yards with 2,179. In 2004, Warren ran for a career-best 1,136 yards with B.C. and set a club record with 160 yards on 18 carries in the Lions' Grey Cup loss to Toronto.
However, Wally Buono, the Lions' head coach and general manager, was critical of Warren for missing a block in a loss to Saskatchewan on July 14 that resulted in quarterback Dave Dickenson sustaining a huge hit.
© 2006 The Sports Network
