Official Oregon Ducks Thread

[Metroid]

Looks like Oregon is giving Michigan State a run for their money in the thuggery department. Wonder if Kelly will follow Douchetonio's lead and kick off players that don't contribute while giving players who see the field a second chance.

Well judging by his short track record, no he'll be consistent. Do you remember him suspending his dark horse Heisman running back this past season for nearly the entire season after the infamous punch? When he probably only would have gotten 2 games from the NCAA? Holland would have been a major contributor this season as and he's been given his walking papers. Kelly will dismiss anyone, regardless of status, from the team if they continuously violate team rules or are involved in serious incidents. Like Bellotti, Kelly strikes me as a no nonsense guy who cares more about the University as a whole than wins and losses.

[AquaMan2342]

I wrote my original comment without doing any real looking into it, and then I looked into it, and the parallels between OU or UO or whatever and MSU are so similar it's laughable.

Number game!

Player #1- Domestic assault, beats his girlfriend
Player #2- Burglary
Player #3- DUI
Player #4- Facebook message critical of team (lol @ how ridiculously insignificant this is compared to the other 3)

I wonder which of those crimes look boot-worthy. Probably not #4, right? #3 should be, right Urban Meyer?

Player #1- Pac-10 freshman of the year
Player #2- Maybe the best dual-threat QB in the country
Player #3- Backup linebacker
Player #4- 17 career receptions, 2 TD

Anyone want to guess which players are still on the team? You guessed it, #1 and #2...LaMichael James and Jeremiah Masoli, probably the team's two best players. Domestic violence is about as clear a crime as you can commit, especially when the victim was choked. I actually questioned Masoli's involvement based on the articles I read but then I came across this little golden nugget:

Masoli is from Daly City. After playing two seasons for the Serra football team, he spent his senior year at a high school in Hawaii and served jail time for armed robberies, the Eugene Register-Guard reported. He was one of several Serra players arrested in June 2005 and expelled for targeting individuals at San Mateo's Hillsdale Mall and bus stops, muscling them for money, the paper reported.

Somehow, I wouldn't put it past him to take a couple laptops and a guitar. Anyways, if you take off your green and gold with silver winged colored glasses, you'd at the very least have to admit that there's an inconsistency in punishment, especially considering the other player involved in the robbery Masoli is accused of committing was also booted off the team. Him and his 2 career receptions. I don't know how much more obvious it could be. If James/Masoli were players 3 and 4, I have absolutely no doubt that they would both still be on the team right now. But we all know what college football is all about. Wins.

[Sandrock]

You're a bit off on your info.

Those kicked off the team so far have been a walk on LB (Simms), backup WR (Embry) and starting WR (Holland). As well, a potentially starting kicker (Bowlin) left the team voluntarily before he could be kicked to the curb.

Masoli (theft) we haven't heard a thing about in quite awhile. James (strangulation/abuse/assault) cannot go to class or come within 2 miles of the campus. Alonso (DUII) has been suspended for the entire season.

[AquaMan2342]

You're a bit off on your info.

Those kicked off the team so far have been a walk on LB (Simms), backup WR (Embry) and starting WR (Holland). As well, a potentially starting kicker (Bowlin) left the team voluntarily before he could be kicked to the curb.

Masoli (theft) we haven't heard a thing about in quite awhile. James (strangulation/abuse/assault) cannot go to class or come within 2 miles of the campus. Alonso (DUII) has been suspended for the entire season.

I don't think it changes my main point. Wasn't Embry's boot related to the robbery that he and Masoli were to have committed? It also doesn't change the fact that James should already be gone or that if he was posting facebook messages he wouldn't be kicked off the team.

[Metroid]

Your little numbers game is cute Aqua, but it's the game itself that is laughable. Maybe you should do a little more research and not believe every report you read on the internet. It's not your fault though, it's the nature of the beast. Once stories get rolling it's hard to discern fact from fiction.

Again your information is off and your perception is as well. Garrett Embry was actually released from the team January 8th, a full two weeks before the reports of this alleged burglary. It makes it much more dramatic, and better news for the masses, to report that he was released because he was linked to a burglary. Also neither he nor Masoli have been charged with anything and I'm not totally sure either will, in fact they haven't even been named as suspects, they are simply "persons of interest. The frat house where this alleged burglary took place isn't exactly the picture of innocence. 57 police complaints have been levied at the frat house over the last five years, that doesn't mean that items weren't stolen but that many calls in a five year period is kinda fishy. And sure Masoli has had his run ins with the law as a juvenile, many kids do stupid stuff when they're teenagers, that doesn't mean you should assume he's guilty. Does it look bad? Sure. Does it mean he did it? Not at all. If there is evidence he committed a crime he'll be booted or at the very least suspended.

Jamere Holland's dismissal from the team was more of a straw that broke the camels back situation, he had had several run ins with the coaching staff before and had been given several chances. Former coach Mike Bellotti and current athletic director said he had been frustrated with Holland, and that the school had given him many chances. He was in fact finally dismissed, and rightfully so, for publicly criticizing the Oregon coaching staff and for publicly posting racist remarks on the internet.

As for James, he hasn't been found guilty of anything yet. That's really the only thing I have to say regarding his situation. If the charges aren't dropped I'm confident he wont be with the program anymore. I'm not assuming he's innocent but I'm not going to assume he's guilty either. There are plenty of cases where spouses are falsely accused in domestic violence situations. Just to be clear, if he in fact did lay a finger on that woman he should be booted from the team and never see a college football field again....which is exactly what will happen. His future with Oregon is questionable at best.

Maybe you should take off your green and gold with silver winged colored hater glasses at admit that in reality the coaching staff has been very consistent in regards to punishment. The university already has two black eyes from the slew of misbehavior by players, it's unfortunate that some feel the need to throw the rest of the program, the coaching staff, and athletic directors under the bus as well. So far what I've seen from where I'm sitting is a program that has handled every giant speed bump appropriately and as a case by case basis since the Blount suspension.

[knapplc]

Anyways, if you take off your green and gold with silver winged colored glasses, you'd at the very least have to admit that there's an inconsistency in punishment, especially considering the other player involved in the robbery Masoli is accused of committing was also booted off the team. Him and his 2 career receptions. I don't know how much more obvious it could be. If James/Masoli were players 3 and 4, I have absolutely no doubt that they would both still be on the team right now. But we all know what college football is all about. Wins.

I have no such glasses. I'm pretty impartial in this instance, having no vested interest in any of the schools you're discussing. I think what you need to do is wait for all the chips to fall in all of these situations before you go pointing fingers. Frankly, I had a hard time understanding what you were on about in most of your post.

[AquaMan2342]

I don't see what's so hard to understand about a clear case of certain players being treated differently than others due to their stature on the team.

And as I figured, I am not alone here

Just to be fair, I read this article also, which has some good points, although it's mostly stuff I already know, especially about Ohio State and Penn State, two of Michigan's biggest rivals. There are some great points in this article and I admit it made me soften my stance a bit as I had forgotten about how soft SEC schools are on their criminals. Again though, if Oregon had Carlos Dunlap, I don't think he would have suspended him the entire year like he did with Alonso, a career backup. And that's been my point the whole time.

Last note: I am totally aware of what happens when details are fudged a bit and realize that fact and fiction can become hard to tell apart. The Detroit Free Press has been on a crusade to bring down Rodriguez and Michigan for almost two years now and reporting fact has been quite a problem for them. Between the Demar Dorsey situation and this whole "extra practice" investigative joke report would lead you to believe that there are real problems within the program, but the facts speak completely otherwise. I'm not naive or deluded enough, however, to actually believe in this day and age that the facts are more important than perception, especially on the national stage.

[Sandrock]

I think you're way off on this one Aqua. Kelly has handled this one pretty much to the letter. The only thing he could have done differently is suspend LMJ indefinitely, which would in effect do nothing since there's not a single football related activity happening at this time.

Wait until the court passes judgement on LMJ, if he's found guilty on any of those five charges he'll be gone for good. And if he's not, then you have a case.

[Metroid]

Exactly, Thank you Sandrock.

You're continuing to say the same things Aqua, even after it's been pointed out how appropriately Kelly has handled everything. There is a misconception that Kelly has been unfair or inconsistent, and that's simply not the case. I have to ask, where exactly is Kelly being inconsistent?

[AquaMan2342]

I am in the middle of writing a response, but seriously? I link to FIVE articles, three of which are from local outlets, and you're telling me that he is handling everything the right way? Wow.