Today is Judgement Day for Masoli, Oregon Football
Posted on 12. Mar, 2010 by Keith Becker in Oregon Ducks
It’s now been over a month since that infamous night at SAE, and only just now are we starting to get some clarity. And not in a good way.
Jeremiah Masoli and Garrett Embry have officially been charged with second degree burglary (a felony in Oregon) and are due to appear in court later today. Also, rumors have been swirling that Masoli’s locker has already been cleaned out – although later refuted by Canzano, saying Chip Kelly told him personally.
The Eugene Police Department and the athletic department did such a good job keeping things under raps in the past few weeks that I figured when Embry was booted off the team (apparently, for the second time) a couple weeks ago that that would be the end of it. There was no hard evidence that Masoli had stolen anything, while Embry at least admitted to having possession of the projector (although the thought of a frat kid chasing down a D1 wide receiving is still baffling).
In fact, the EPD even went so far as to say Masoli wasn’t even a suspect in the case. A little weird, but I went along with it.
Now today, we learned that police found the quarterback’s fingerprints on the “stolen property”.
This is what I found shocking.
When did they find this out? I can’t believe it was just this week. I would assume, the longer you wait, the harder it is to find fingerprints. Maybe they were waiting to disclose this until Masoli was officially charged, but then why would they be so adamant in saying he wasn’t even a suspect?
Factor in his previous legal troubles and the rumor that he might have lied to Chip Kelly about the incident, and things could get real ugly, real fast.
This whole case has been very weird. And has paid an emotional toll on Duck fans.
Oregon has been the butt of numerous jokes and criticisms all over the interwebs, including sites such as Deadspin, SportsbyBrooks (gag) and The Big Lead.
That said, commenter #21 (not an Oregon fan) from The Big Lead nailed the grieving process we’re going through perfectly.
wildcat1144 Says:
It’s been fascinating to listen to duck fans call into the Portland based sports shows. It’s like they’ve been going through the 5 stages of grief and loss over the past few months.
Denial – Whoa, like these guys were even involved. It’s just a rumor. The Oregonian and radio shows are just blowing this up. No big deal.
Anger – It’s the Frat’s fault for not letting Masoli in the party and for reporting it, she probably was attacking James and he was just defending himself, it’s Canzano’s fault because he hates the University of Oregon.
Bargaining – Hey if “we” want to win a Rose Bowl and play for a championship then we have to be willing to have guys with questionable character on the team. Hey these are just college kids and all college kids do stuff like this.
Depression – What happened to our Pac 10 championship team? Chip can’t watch all 90 guys on the team. This may hurt us in 2010 but we’ll still beat Oregon State.
Acceptance – Masoli was 1-dimensional anyways…Darron Thomas is going to be a star so we might as well play him now. James wouldn’t have broke out with Blunt getting suspended so I’m sure we’ll have another running back to replace James.
Obviously, his “Acceptance” paragraph is sarcasm, but unfortunately spot on. I too, have noticed that Oregon fans have been saying “oh, Darron Thomas is better than Masoli anyway”. Talk about talking yourself into something. That’s just flat out not true.
With Masoli and James, Oregon is a top 5 team (Vegas at one point gave Oregon the best odds at winning the 2011 title) and anything less than a Rose Bowl win would be a disappointment.
Masoli is a bona fide Heisman contender this season. Darron Thomas is merely the sexy backup who came in for him in the Boise State game and almost led the Ducks to a fantastic comeback (and also this awesome play), but still, big difference.
While clearly talented, Thomas doesn’t come close to replacing Masoli’s stone cold demeanor, confidence, leadership, experience, and feel for Chip’s complex offense. I don’t know how many guys treat a 4th and 5 the same way they treat a 1st and 10, but Masoli’s one of them (evidence, evidence, and more evidence).
Sure, Oregon returns 19 starters, but that’s meaningless without its star quarterback. Masoli makes this offense go.
If Masoli is found guilty, then of course he needs to pay the consequences, but for the love of Juju, I’m praying Masoli will be barking signals come September.
Hours of potentially lost sleep, rising blood pressures, and psychiatrists bills for thousands of Oregon fans are at stake.
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uo fan
16. Mar, 2010
I slammed you when you made allegations based on an anonymous tip that was unconfirmed by the police. I questioned your journalistic integrity, but looks like you were right. I apologize. Way to be first on the story.
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