I know, I'm always harping on the MSM and what they get wrong, but sometimes they pay more attention to their deadlines than they do to reality. Besides, Peter King is my favorite whipping boy. Check this out, from his Monday Morning Quarterback of 4.6.09:

"9. I think I don't care at all if B.J. Raji smoked pot at Boston College. I'd guess that would make him one of about 150 players of the 328 who attended the Scouting Combine who smoked pot at one time or other during their college years. I bet I'm underestimating that, really. Now, if there's some indication that Raji smokes so much pot that he couldn't get cleaned up in time for the combine, or he smokes so much that he's mentally addicted to it, that's another matter.

I applaud SI.com for breaking the story, and it deserves to be reported. But what I do not applaud is the knee-jerk reaction by some NFL front offices about it. Some front offices are way, way too hung up on vilifying guys who did the occasional doobie in college while virtually ignoring the exploits of guys who got smashed at keg parties over and over at college.

King totally misses the point. I also happen to believe that smoking a doobie every now and then isn't going to make someone a Bad Person--or even a bad player. But here's the deal, Pete: it's banned by the league. You test positive for marijuana, you get suspended. Four games, first offense. A third violation and you're gone for a year. Remember Ricky Williams, Pete? Oh, that slipped your mind...well, I guarantee you every front office that you just chided remembers Ricky very well. They don't like the idea of wasting a first-rounder on someone who might not be around when they need him. Those GMs aren't just a bunch of superannuated tightasses sitting around in their plush offices bitching about the state of today's youth--they're businessmen, with a job to do: protecting their teams' bottom lines. That's why Raji may drop in the draft.

I think King needs to let somebody read his stuff before he posts it.