DAVIE, Fla. (AP) – Marijuana’s out, and so is military service, although President Bush is nice.

Football is hard work but could become fun and leads to freedom. Shaving is vain, money’s not a problem and that Mighty Mouse tattoo on the left arm stirs memories of walking Venice Beach with a girl at age 16.

Ricky Williams may have set an NFL record Wednesday for most topics tackled in a 15-minute interview.

He smiled frequently during his weekly media session, an indication that all is well in Williams’ universe, which makes the Miami Dolphins happy.

“I was sitting at home last night and thinking if there was anywhere in the world I’d rather be or anything I’d rather be doing,” he said. “And the answer was there was nothing.

“I’ve gotten to a point where I realize that happiness doesn’t come from the outside. So whether I was back in California or had $10 million or whatever I was doing, it wouldn’t make me any happier than I am now.”

Motivated at least partly by the need for a paycheck, the 2002 NFL rushing champion ended his one-year retirement and rejoined the Dolphins on July 25.

Williams has rushed for only 56 yards in three exhibition games, and because he must sit out the first four regular-season games for violating the NFL substance abuse policy, it’ll be nearly eight weeks before he plays when it counts. Maybe that’s why few of the questions at his interview session involved football.

Another factor in the wide range of subjects was the presence of a “60 Minutes” camera crew and Mike Wallace, who did a story on Williams late last year.

This time Williams declined a one-on-one interview with CBS, so Wallace took part in a group session with a roomful of reporters and cameramen.

Wallace had to ask Williams how to pronounce Dolphins coach Nick Saban’s name, but did inspire expansive comments from the mercurial running back, such as on the subject of Bush.

“When I was in school, at the time he was the governor of Texas,” said Williams, who won the 1998 Heisman Trophy at the University of Texas. “Sometimes he would work out in our weight room. I had a chance to talk to him a couple of times. I was lifting, he was just riding a bike. I think he’s a nice person.”

The interview had the flow of a Dolphins offensive series, meaning it proceeded fitfully, but Williams moved gamely from topic to topic:

• He said he doesn’t miss marijuana.

“I can’t do that anymore. I get tested twice a week.”

• He owes the Dolphins $8.6 million for breaching his contract by retiring last year, but said he doesn’t know his financial situation.

“I have no idea. The way I live my life, if I have a place to stay and I have food on the table, I’m not broke.”

• He said he doesn’t think about the war in Iraq and won’t join the military.

“There’s a war outside, but I think there’s also a war inside all of us. When you talk about world peace and people doing all these things for peace, and they want peace and want to be treated fairly, I think it really starts with yourself and looking for the peace inside yourself. When each of us can do that, then the peace spreads outward.”

• He said he’s not having fun since returning to football, but doesn’t mind.

“You look across from fun and you see work. The fun is the result of hard work. If you work hard you get to the fun. … The process of coming to work every day gives me more and more freedom.”

• Teammates tease him about his scruffy beard, saying he looks homeless, but he sees no reason to shave.

“Some people have a job, some people’s wives don’t like it, some people are uncomfortable with it. But I don’t have a reason to shave.”

• His first tattoo was Mighty Mouse in green and gold, his San Diego high school’s colors.

“I was at Venice Beach with my girlfriend at the time, and I said it would be cool to get a tattoo. The way I look at them, they’re somewhat of a map. You see a tattoo, and you think back to a time in your life.”

Mike Ditka and Dave Wannstedt invested heavily in Williams, and both are now out of the NFL, earning him a reputation as a coach killer. But he has hit it off with Saban, who said Williams’ work ethic ranks with the best on the team.

Saban also said he respects Williams’ enigmatic views.

“With differences in people and personalities, I don’t think we’re in a business where one size fits all,” Saban said. “In this day and age, your ability to get different kinds of people to play well together and develop chemistry and enjoy what they’re doing is probably a key to being successful.”