The Facts: Simpson avoided jail time Thursday after pleading guilty to careless driving and third-degree DWI. A third charge, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, was dropped. Simpson was sentenced just for the careless driving misdemeanor, and the third-degree DWI (refusal to submit to a chemical test) was stayed. Simpson was ordered to do 120 hours of community service in public schools instead of serving 15 days in the workhouse. He also must attend alcohol seminars. He is on probation for one year and cannot have any of the same or similar offenses.

Diehards Line:When Simpson signed with the Vikings in 2012, he was dealing with the repercussions of a three-game suspension by the NFL stemming from a drug arrest and was in the first year of three years’ probation ordered by a Kentucky judge. He originally was charged there on March 1, 2012, with felony charges after marijuana was shipped to his home in Kentucky. In a plea agreement, authorities agreed that Simpson apparently wanted the marijuana for his own use, and that of his friends. Simpson likely faces a suspension from the NFL for the latest charges. He is an unrestricted free agent.