Ivan Maisel recently visited the state of Oregon and made stops in Corvallis and Eugene. While his article on the Beavers focused on injury concerns and the Beavers being firmly cemented as Oregon's "little brother", Maisel's article about the Ducks had a much different tone. Let's just say it's a little easier to have a positive outlook in Eugene these days.The main focus of Maisel's article was junior running back LaMichael James. James, he says, "is just now growing up." And that can only mean good things for the Ducks. James has had his share of off-the-field distractions while at Oregon, with the most well known of those distractions being the argument and altercation he had with his girlfriend before the start of last season, that landed him in a bit of trouble.
Maisel asked him about that experience. "I tell everybody, 'That's the greatest thing that ever happened to me. Ever,'" James said. "I don't think it's a bad thing. I have no regrets about what happened. It just makes you realize a lot of different things. I think it humbles you, makes you more mature, makes you a smarter player in life and in football."
We had a pretty harsh opinion of what should have been the punishment for James after the domestic violence charge, and thought Coach Kelly should have suspended him for more than just a gimmie game against the lowly New Mexico Lobos in Autzen. But whatever our opinions of James at that time, we're glad that the kid has recovered well, found success, and has got his head on straight.
We thought the most interesting part of Maisel's article is the fact that when James first got to Eugene, he was terribly homesick pretty much 24/7. But it was the power of homemade fried chicken that finally chase the homesickness away.
James found a two-pronged cure for homesickness. For one thing, he taught himself how to fry chicken. Eugene is nowhere for a Southerner to eat. Rather than wait for his mom or sister to visit from Texarkana to eat his favorite food, he bought a deep fryer.
"I try to eat a lot of soul food, a lot of fried food," he said. The nutritionist in the Oregon athletic department just fainted. James fries up some bird several times a week. He is aware that fried chicken isn't exactly tofu.
I guess the lesson we learn from that is to never underestimate the power of some good fried chicken, folks.
In terms of how we see the Ducks doing this upcoming season, in short, it's the Pac 12 title or bust. And they definitely have the horses to do it once again, for the 3rd season in a row. The class of the conference is now Oregon and Stanford, with the rest of the conference fighting for third place at best.
You don't have to be Nostradamus to know that LaMichael James is most likely going to have another monster year for the Ducks. And sure it's a bit early to ask this question, but is it feasible to think James comes back for his senior season? I think that if that happened, the space-time continuum surrounding the city of Eugene would implode into itself. Or something crazy like that.
