Commentary: Tale of Dolphins and Usain Bolt runs wild

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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/content/sports/epaper/2008/08/22/a1c_stoda_0823.html

Commentary: Tale of Dolphins and Usain Bolt runs wild

By GREG STODA
Palm Beach Post Staff Columnist

Friday, August 22, 2008

Usain Bolt. Dolphins.

Whooooooosh!!!!

That's all it takes, and a Web-generated rumor unsubstantiated by facts goes speeding into free-form conversation. Never mind an improbability factor, because improbability factors don't matter anymore.

What does matter is possibility, no matter how remote, because that's what the (mis)information beast requires for its care and feeding.

Is it outlandish that an NFL career for Bolt (6-feet-5, 190 pounds) would be the subject of speculation after his Olympic Games tour de force in Beijing, where he set world records in the 100- and 200-meter races and helped Jamaica set one in the 400-meter relay?

No, it is not, because Renaldo Nehemiah comes to mind as a world-class track star with no football experience who played three barely serviceable seasons with the San Francisco 49ers once upon a time.

The speedster is a sexy bet, and sometimes turns out to be better than just pretty good. Bob Hayes and Willie Gault, for example, played college football in addition to being track stars and then became formidable NFL receivers. It's why Gil Brandt, once a honcho with the Dallas Cowboys, says what he says about Bolt: "You've got to try. I'd probably be waiting at the airport in Kingston, Jamaica, right now. He's an unbelievable guy (with) that size. I'm sure some agent will try to talk him into playing football."

So, sure, there's all that plus the fact that Brandt was with the Cowboys when they drafted Hayes, and later when they failed to get Olympic track star Carl Lewis to camp after drafting him, too.

But a report on MediaTakeOut.com stated that it spoke to "a person affiliated with the NFL's Miami Dolphins organization who claims that Bill Parcells is interested in trying out Bolt." The "report" went on to say that the Dolphins had dispatched a scout to China to talk with Bolt's manager.

The Dolphins didn't just deny the report and risk suggesting plausibility. Instead, they called the report "ridiculous." There was laughter involved, and no small amount of disgust.

It's not that the Dolphins, with Ted Ginn Jr. and Derek Hagan as likely starting receivers, aren't desperate at the position where Bolt would be slotted. Nor is it farfetched to think that Bolt, should he prove to be tough enough and absorb proper football instruction, could be a scary kickoff returner.

What's ludicrous is the notion that Parcells, in earliest stages of rebuilding mode with the Dolphins, would waste time on a goose-chase mission to China.

And there's the hardly small matter of Bolt's eligibility, which the NFL has seen fit to address in consideration of teams' current or future interest in him. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello has said Bolt would have to be declared eligible for the draft, make himself available in the draft and then not be drafted before he could become a free agent.

Parcells and the Dolphins might be among the interested parties in working out Bolt and drafting him if he is found worthy, but that's a long way off and a long shot, too, at best.

Why?

Because it's unlikely Bolt ever will choose to subject himself to the rigors and dangers of professional football and the time it would take to learn the necessary skills when he can earn lots of money at much less risk as a track star.

In Hayes' heyday in the 1960s, "football players weren't as advanced as they are now," Brandt said. "The learning curve wasn't as big then as it is now. Kids used to play three sports. Now, there's so much emphasis being put on being good in one."

Or, in Bolt's case, being great in one.

The Dolphins, by the way, previously have dabbled in the track-football experiment.

Jimmy Hines was a double gold medalist out of Texas Southern in sprint and relay races at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, and the Dolphins drafted him in the sixth round that year.

"He didn't do very well," Brandt said.

Hines' nickname, in fact, was "Oops" as a result of what he uttered after one of his many dropped passes.