Rumblin', Stumblin', Fumblin': Quick Notes and News While We Wait for Practice Updates and Video

Nate Costa has nothing to be ashamed of. He competed hard and nearly won the job. His and Darron's efforts raised the level of everyone's work in fall camp, and because of them, Oregon has two capable quarterbacks who will be ready to defend the conference title.

Nate was classy and courageous throughout, like always, and here's hoping Duck fans give him a roar of appreciation the first time he comes out to take a series on September 4th. I'm a big fan of both guys, and I'm glad they're in an Oregon uniform. The Ducks will need both to win this season. Depth is a strong suit throughout the Oregon lineup, and quarterback is no exception.


It was cool to see the Ducks make the cover of USA Today. Question: how does LaMichael James make this cover as one of the two featured players in the Western region of the country, and not make the watch list for the Dope Walker Award? Really? Only four guys rushed for more than his 1546 yards, no one had more breakaway runs or produced more excitement, and he's likely to be better in 2010, stronger and faster after a stint on the conference champion track team last spring. He sticks his foot in the ground and goes from zero to sixty--it was the most sensible thing Jesse Palmer ever said. LMJ is the most electric back college football has seen since Reggie Bush, and he was a cheater whose existence has been erased. To not include James on a list of candidates for a running back award makes that a pretty stupid award.

The beauty of it is, LaMichael couldn't care two cents about that snub. The only award he cares about is the PTT (Pac-10 Trophy) and the only awards ceremony he's concerned about attending right now is the singing of the fight song in a victorious Oregon locker room after a victory over New Mexico.

Baver fans will make hay all season over the unfortunate incident with the young woman last winter (despite having unfortunate incidents of their own), but James has addressed that, responded properly before the legal system and in the classroom and earned the right to move on. You will never find a more humble and focused kid than LaMichael, and from this point forward he deserves to be judged only for the whole of his conduct and the dignified way he conducts himself on and off the field. He's a good kid and a credit to his team, and the best running back in the NCAA. He's one of the most dynamic players, at any position, in the whole country. If he plays four years he'll put the first stiff arm trophy in the Oregon trophy case. Whether he wants to or not, he'll probably get an invite to New York as a junior and senior, or at least he ought to. He may even win a couple of those Dope Walker awards. Yep, that's what I said.

The only possible catches are injury or leaving early. LaMichael is tough and strong but plagued by occasional shoulder problems. Here's hoping one of those sleazeball hide-in-the-bushes agents doesn't get in his ear. Objectively, LaMike is a player who would benefit from four years at the college level, addressing doubts about his size and durability and improving his skills as a receiver out of the backfield. I wonder what the Kiper types are saying about him. Does he project as a strictly a third-down back in their eyes, a Joe Washington, or a Barry Sanders? Whatever they think he's capable of, triple it by three. Just let us keep him for four years first. I don't know his family situation--some kids can't afford to wait, and feel a lot of pressure to achieve and take care of their family.

Another aspect of the USA Today cover is that whatever you think of the Nike fashion-forward marketing of the Ducks, with the multiple uniforms and helmets and the wings and carbon fiber and throwbacks, it has made Oregon the sexiest, most rock and roll team in the country. They get attention. They get talked about. Young recruits around the nation, talented kids with many options, see what Oregon is doing and they put them on their list, many of them to the top of their list. The Ducks have become the Dream School for kids who live 3,000 miles away and run a 4.25. Heady stuff. What a long, strange trip it's been since the days of the 0-0 tie.

Of course the image and the flash is just one part of the equation. When you back that up with great coaching in a space age pinball laser light show offense, and a team that plays championship football before an intelligent, wildly enthusiastic crowd in a packed stadium in a great college town in the most beautiful state in the country, you have something that sells itself. You have something that endures, formidable enough to buck the trend of all the attention going to the warm weather states and the Haves from the South and Southeast.

A last word on embarrassing incidents. Here at The Duck Stops Here we generally have little sympathy for the jealous horde of Beaver "Nation" but we try to avoid the cheap and easy lines, even when some stories write themselves. Tyler Thomas was a third-string tackle. It was not an important story in a football sense, and Mike Riley handled it properly. The young man likely needs some counseling and medical attention, and I hope he allows himself to receive it. There's a thin line between love and hate, between sanity and endangering your own life and the lives of others.

It's a reminder to all of us to know our limits and take care of each other, to remember to look up from the game occasionally and talk to our four-year-old about his new Hot Wheel racecar, spend an hour in his world. You'll be glad you did. The other night I had to work late, and when I came home my wife had made a barbeque sandwich and some twice-baked potatoes, wrapped up in plate next to the microwave. It was after midnight and she had to work the next morning. It's the little things in life, the tender mercies, the gentle graces. The tagline of the blog is just a joke, a way of grabbing your attention and poking fun at how obsessive and passionate we can be about this school and this game. Remember to be as obsessive and passionate about all the other little things that matter so much.