Pot or Football? Now That's a tough one.

Which would you choose - millions of dollars in the NFL, or smoking out with your buds?

I simply do not understand the attraction of smoking marijuana over playing in the NFL. Isn't it supposed to be a one of the less-addicting drugs? Can any hemp activists out there answer me that? What gives?

On Friday, former Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter was arrested at his girlfriend's house in Irving. She had called 911, telling the dispatcher that Quincy was out of control and destroying her house. She feared for her safety.

When the cops arrived, Quincy had a little less than 2 ounces of weed on him, so he was promptly hauled off to jail.

The truly funny (and immensely sad) part came when sportswriter Randy Galloway found out that Quincy had not bailed himself out - apparently, he did not have the $150 to post bond. So Randy, nice guy that he is, talked about it on his radio show and put up the money himself to bail out Carter.

(By the way, Randy - Journalism 101: DO NOT POST BOND FOR PLAYERS YOU HAVE COVERED IN YOUR JOB. I'm surprised this has faded out of the Dallas media so quickly. The Star-Telegram's publisher Wes Turner said this:

"Even though Carter is now a private citizen, we understand he is a public figure and that Randy's action may be seen as a conflict of interest," Turner said. "While we would not have approved of this action, we do not question Randy's integrity as a journalist or his status as the preeminent sports voice in the Fort Worth-Dallas area."

Yep - that's the media for you. Blatant conflict of interest and ZERO consequences. Good stuff!)

But back to Quincy. This all makes perfect sense. Even though Quincy was released from the Cowboys in August 2004 for failing a drug test, (And released this year from the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League for another failed drug test) we all know that league NFL minimum $250,000 is not enough to keep the bling and ganja flowing. The dealer would need to take his cut, along with whatever Quincy needed to buy for his entourage.

I cannot fathom going from being the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, to kicking back in the clink overnight because you do not have the ability to cough up a hundred bucks. I wish I had known about this sooner, just so I could have driven up to Dallas, visited him in his cell, and pointed and laughed at him like Nelson Muntz.

This, of course, brings to mind everyone's favorite holistic medicine student Ricky Williams, currently the star running back of the CFL's Toronto Argonauts. After his standout years at UT, Ricky had received an $8 million dollar signing bonus negotiated by good ol' Master P in 1999. Four drug violations later (for marijuana), he promises to return and play for the Dolphins again in 2007.

I give him three games next season before he fails the urine test again. Then it's only a matter of time before Jerry Jones decides he'd be "worth a look".

So, Ricky, how about this - lay off the yellow submarine for a year, and make millions. Whaddayasay?

RICKY: Hmm... Nah. I'll take the weed. Wanna toke?