Masoli throws football away

Well, this time around, it didn't take the Oregon Ducks until the first game to potentially derail their season.

They did it before spring practice even started.

Last year, it was LeGarrette Blount against Boise State in the famous post-game punch and meltdown.

This year, it's quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and running back LaMichael James, the co-MVPs of last season's squad, against fellow students and ex-girlfriend, respectively. They both were considered possible Heisman Trophy candidates for next season. Not now.

Plus, seven other players have been in trouble with the law since their trip to Rose Bowl. Three have been booted from the team.

Masoli was accused of stealing computers, guitar and other stuff from a rowdy fraternity house, where the police have made frequent visits over the years. (They didn't film "Animal House" at the University of Oregon for nothing.) He faced a second-degree burglary count, which is a felony, but pleaded guilty today, along with former teammate Garrett Embry, to a misdemeanor count.

Embry, a wide receiver who saw limited action last season, has already been kicked off the team for this violation of team rules. Masoli, though, is suspended for the 2010 season. He could red-shirt next season or this could end his college and, most likely, football career. He's too small for the NFL. Don't see him returning next season in the manner that Blount did last year.

According to The Oregonian, Masoli and Embry "both will get 12 months probation, be ordered to serve 140 hours of community service within eight months and owe $5,200 in shared restitution in 10 days plus a $100 bench-probation fee."

Masoli had trouble with the law 5 years ago while at Serra High School in the Bay Area. Apparently, the punishment he got then -- juvenile detention, expulsion from high school -- didn't get through to him. He'll have plenty of time to rue his latest frat house escapade. It's a shame that someone with that much talent on the football field could be so self-destructive off of it. What a fool.

James got physical with his ex-girlfriend when she confronted him at his apartment Feb. 16. He got 10 days in jail plus 2-years probation this morning for one misdemeanor count of physical harassment. Coach Chip Kelly, though, merely suspended James for the first game, against New Mexico, of the 2010 season along with kicker Rob Beard, who pleaded guilty in a separate harassment case.

As for James, his altercation with an ex-girlfriend seems out of character for him. Yes, he was involved in a fight between rival high schools in Texas, where he's from. But, those charges were dismissed. Last season, he stepped up behind Blount and rushed for the most yards ever by a Pac-10 freshman. He seems like a decent human being.

Yes, the Ducks have plenty of capable backups, but they were backups for a reason. Still, that's the new game plan in Eugene. It could be disastrous, but that's what everyone thought last September after the Boise State debacle. All the team did then was win the Pac-10 outright and make it to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 15 years.

Are bigger and better things in store for the Ducks? Kelly could become national coach of the year if he can turn this all around and make it to a BCS bowl game once more.

There are a lot of couldas, wouldas, and shouldas being muttered today in Eugene. Kelly must erase those words from the chalkboard and find someway to rally his team in the weeks and months to come.

Good luck.