NCAA 2010- No Timmys or Homers allowed!

[Ed Anger]

Harbaugh got a new 50,000 dollar bathroom paid for by some rich guy at Stanford. I bet he stays.

I would, if I got the Cadillac of toilets.

[grumbler]

Harbaugh got a new 50,000 dollar bathroom paid for by some rich guy at Stanford. I bet he stays.

I'd take that bet.

I would, if I got the Cadillac of toilets.

I wouldn't object to you taking the Stanford job and the toilet.

If it is all that, thogh, he would probably bring it with him  to Ann Arbor.  Unlike Columbus, Ann Arbor has running water.

[Ed Anger]

hiss.

I bet 6 quatloos.

[Berkut]

Any catch the end of the Arizona-Stanford game?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwyoUZ5p3tM&feature=player_embedded#

[dps]

Any catch the end of the Arizona-Stanford game?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwyoUZ5p3tM&feature=player_embedded#

Wrong sport, Berkut.

[Berkut]

Oops.

[Berkut]

Defending the Ducks:

The Oregon football team's series of police blotter appearances is disturbing, but let's get a grip.

Contentions that coach Chip Kelly has lost control of his program, or that he has a double-standard approach to discipline or that the UO football team has unleashed some sort of reign of terror in Eugene are hyperbolic and unsupportable.

The Ducks' missteps hardly are unique in the high-stakes world of major college football, where approximately 100 young men land on a college campus because they are bigger, faster, stronger and more aggressive than your average person.

In fact, the Ducks' list of three misdemeanor assault charges and a DUII citation are small potatoes compared to what has happened elsewhere in the Pacific-10 Conference in the past 10 years.

• In 2000, star University of Washington linebacker Jeremiah Pharms robbed, then shot a guy who had sold him drugs. The bullet just missed the drug dealer's liver. That was the marquee incident, but at least 14 UW members of the 2000 team that played in the Rose Bowl were accused of crimes including hit-and-run, animal cruelty, punching a security guard, DUII, attacking a fraternity, sexual assault, vandalizing automobiles, domestic violence, assaulting a parking attendant.
• In 2002, four UCLA players were charged with assault and a fifth dismissed from the team for fighting. And that followed a season in which the quarterback had two drunken driving beefs and the star running back was suspended for violating NCAA extra benefit rules.
• In 2004, an Arizona State tailback was suspended for accepting extra benefits, another for slugging a teammate. In the spring of 2005, fresh from being reinstated, running back Loren Wade shot and killed former a former ASU player outside a Scottsdale, Ariz. nightclub. He was convicted of second-degree murder.
• In 2005, Oregon State players had a litany of problems, from an accusations of assault on a national guardsmen, to trying to pay cab fare with marijuana, to a driving drunk with a stolen sheep in the back of a pickup, to providing alcohol to a minor who died of binge drinking.
• In an 18-month period in 2005 and 2006, at least 25 Washington State players were arrested or charged with a criminal offense. In one, a star linebacker broke into an apartment and clubbed one of the residents with a frying pan, fracturing his cheekbone. In another, a player soaked a teamamte's contact lenses in rubbing alcohol after a dispute over an unpaid cable television bill.

I'm not absolving Kelly or Oregon of anything. And what has happened elsewhere doesn't mean UO athletes shouldn't be held to a high standard.

Charges that running back LaMichael James and kicker Rob Beard assaulted women are serious, and the thought of two UO kickers in the middle of a street brawl near campus is a little unnerving.

That said, we should note most of the participants in the brawl apparently were not football players.

In fact, most members of the Oregon football team don't seem to have done anything but get painted an ugly shade of not-very-fair by a very broad brush.

Kelly dismissed walk-on defensive end Matt Simms, who allegedly assaulted a fellow student, and receiver Jamere Holland, who capped a checkered two years at Oregon by disrespecting Kelly on his Facebook page.

The coach suspended linebacker Kiko Alonso, who was cited for DUII, for the entire 2010 season.

To me, that seems tough, hands-on and in control.

Kelly contends he hasn't acted on James because he doesn't have all the evidence.

OK, give him that one. But hold him to it.

If the charges against James stick, or if the theft accusation leveled at quarterback Jeremiah Masoli turns out to be substantive, expect Kelly to come down as hard on his All-America candidates as he did on the scrubs.

If he doesn't, there will be both time and reason for outrage.

In the meantime, let's slow down in the rush to judgment so we don't fumble away perspective.

It is nice that someone is going to bat for the poor OU program. Lord knows they ahve been blasted aplenty.

Kind of dissapointed in the result though - his basic argument is that we should nto worry too much about some pretty incredibly horrible stuff because...other horrible stuff has happened elsewhere?

I mean, the examples he cited were all universally panned as being pretty terrible examples of the very worst of college athletics, and the thugs that sometimes show up, especially in programs that value winning at any and all costs.

I think he actually makes just the opposite conclusion - that OU, by being comparable to those programs, is in fact doing something wrong, since I don't think anyone thought that Loren Wade shooting someone was just "business as usual" just like Blount going crazy and attacking people and then Chip welcoming him back to the team with open arms was "business as usual".

I love this comment:

That said, we should note most of the participants in the brawl apparently were not football players.

Oh well, since most of the people involved were NOT football players, I guess that means that the football players involved were....not responsible? Not really there? What, exactly? Is it ok to be in a brawl as long as the other people in the brawl aren't football players?

Bizarre.

[katmai]

On Wednesday that quarterback, junior Jeremiah Masoli, was charged with second-degree burglary. The running back, freshman LaMichael James, planned to change his original not-guilty plea in a domestic-violence incident.

[Berkut]

NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG, MOVE ALONG!

[sbr]

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindducksbeat/2010/03/oregon_ducks_lamichael_james_c.html

Oregon Ducks' LaMichael James pleads guilty to physical harassment, gets 24 months' probation

EUGENE – Oregon running back LaMichael James pleaded guilty to one count of physical harassment Friday in Lane County Circuit Court in connection with a Feb. 15 domestic-violence incident and agreed to 24 months' probation.

James, 20, initially was charged with five misdemeanors: one count of strangulation, two counts of fourth-degree assault and two charges of physical harassment. All charges but the one on physical harassment were dismissed this morning.

Reading from a plea agreement, James' lawyer said James would serve 24 months probation and 10 days in custody, with credit for the time he already spent in jail. He said James would have no contact with the victim, whom the lawyer identified as James' "ex-girlfriend."

James spent two nights in jail after his arrest, meaning he has eight days left to serve. But in a news conference after the hearing, Lane County district attorney Alex Gardner said that James would be unlikely to serve that time in jail because of overcrowding.

According to court documents, James is eligible for "alternative court programs," which could include community service work. James must report to the Lane County sheriff by 4 p.m. today to learn what that service would be. 

The agreement allows James back on campus, which he was barred from previously, endangering his academic standing.

After the six-minute hearing, James and two men with him, apparently lawyers, left the courtroom through a door near the judge and did not speak with reporters.

James' 8:30 a.m. arraignment began an ignominious day for the Oregon football program, which has seen nine players get into public trouble in the past seven weeks. At 1:30 p.m. this afternoon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, 21, and wide receiver Garrett Embry are scheduled to enter pleas to second-degree burglary – a felony – in connection with thefts from a Eugene fraternity house that were reported to police on Jan. 24. On Feb. 1, Oregon announced that Embry had been dismissed from the program on Jan. 8 for a violation of team rules.

Gardner had no comment on Masoli's upcoming appearance while meeting with reporters after James' session ended.

I also heard a report on the radio this morning that Masoli's locker had been cleared out but I haven't seen that reported anywhere else yet.

[Berkut]

Millers blog has a link to the court document that spells out what both parties agreed happened in regards to James.

Sounds like a pretty regrettable, but hardly damning, incident.

On the one hand, on the face of it and only looking at this particular incident, I might consider (if I were Chip Kelley) how harsh his punishment needs to be in regards to his status with the team.

On the other hand, with all the problems Oregon is having, coming down hard on James may be the only option.

[Admiral Yi]

Wyoming signed a linebacker from Munich Germany. We will eat up opposing offenses.

Half American or treue kraut?  Fresh off the boat?

I think it would be fantastic if Europe starting generating talent.

[katmai]

Hey Berk and sbr.

Decision has come down on Masoli

Oregon QB Masoli suspended for next season

Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was suspended Friday for the upcoming season by coach Chip Kelly after pleading guilty to second-degree burglary in the theft of a pair of laptops and a guitar from a campus fraternity.

By ANNE M. PETERSON

AP Sports Writer

Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was suspended Friday for the upcoming season by coach Chip Kelly after pleading guilty to second-degree burglary in the theft of a pair of laptops and a guitar from a campus fraternity.

Masoli, who had been mentioned as a potential Heisman candidate, will remain on scholarship with the Ducks.

"He does have a redshirt season available to him if he chooses to do that," Kelly said.

Kelly announced the suspension just hours after Masoli appeared in Lane County Circuit Court to answer to the burglary charge.

Kelly, who has come under fire for some of his disciplinary decisions, also meted out punishment for running back LaMichael James and placekicker Rob Beard.

James was suspended for the season opener after he pleaded guilty early Friday to a misdemeanor harassment charge stemming from an altercation with his former girlfriend.

Beard was also suspended for the opener Sept. 4 at home against New Mexico after pleading guilty last week to a misdemeanor harassment charge for his role in a street fight that left him seriously injured.

"I am extremely disappointed anytime any of our players fall short of our expectations that have been clearly outlined for them in advance on numerous occasions, and this is especially true regarding their roles within the community," Kelly said. "Their accountability for their actions is paramount and any tainting of the reputation of the University of Oregon and this football program will not be tolerated."

Masoli pleaded guilty as part of a deal that reduced his charge from a felony to a misdemeanor. Former Ducks receiver Garrett Embry pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of second-degree burglary as well.

Both were sentenced to 12 months of probation and 140 hours of community service. Together they must also pay $5,000 restitution.

[sbr]

Hey Berk and sbr.

Decision has come down on Masoli

Waits for, "Yeah like he will really miss the whole year"....   

Even if he does miss the entire year that seems awfully lenient for a guy who already has a burglary charge on his record (IIRC). 

[Berkut]

Hey Berk and sbr.

Decision has come down on Masoli

Waits for, "Yeah like he will really miss the whole year"....   

Even if he does miss the entire year that seems awfully lenient for a guy who already has a burglary charge on his record (IIRC). 

I love that the penalty will not actually involve losing any eligibility.

Felony burglary for the star QB? Take a redshirt year.

Backup disses the coach on FB? ZOMG YOU ARE OFF THE TEAM!