Michael not ready to return to oil rig

By the Associated Press
Michael Sarver, latest castoff from "American Idol," isn't ready to go back to the oil rig.

"I don't think it would be a great idea to get out there and take a chance on hurting myself and not being available for the tour," he told a teleconference Friday, a day after being eliminated from the Fox singing competition.

"I'm going home, and I'm going to take some time off to spend with my family. I believe they deserve my undivided attention for a little while and that's exactly what they're going to get."

Sarver will take part in the "Idols Live" tour with the rest of the top 10 contestants this summer. Dates have yet to be announced.

He said he didn't take it personally when judge Simon Cowell told him this week that there's no way he could win. "It didn't necessarily tick me off, nor did it insult me, but it kind of made me giggle, because he knows better than that. We didn't get there by mistake," Sarver said.

And he's not just an oil worker who sings. "I am a serious writer, and I have written over 890 songs since the age of 14," he said. "There's a lot of stories, a lot of ... hard-lived life, good-lived life, and my happiness that I experience in life now all through my music and I'm going to share it."

His favorite "American Idol" moment? Shooting hoops with the guys. Danny Gokey, Anoop Desai and Sarver would play basketball to blow off steam.

"It was quite fun. I was horrible, of course," he said, adding that Desai is an intense player. "When Anoop missed, he did not like it. He would beat himself up until he got it."