SpeedFlex27

Bomber qb Ken Ploen evades the tackle of Saskatchewan Roughriders DB Ted Dushinski (#27)  during the 1966 season at Winnipeg Stadium.
 

 
 

TW and I won't make it through the first quarter...

OTT is just better than HAM. But there were times OTT looked inept and Harris completely ineffective. HAM needs that team to show up.
I'll be there regardless.

Wow, that must have quite a kick!
 

Tourist hits. 

She will drive ratings. But I don't care who cheers for whom as long as they aren't biased or forced down our throats.

Hmmm. So, if a commentator has a team preference they shouldn't be on the air? 

Or a janitor to do brain surgery. 

Whatever that means. He's a two faced hypocrite in it for the money. He's also a geneticist & not a climat0ologist or meteorologist.  As far as climate goes that's like asking an accountant to supervise the construction of a skyscraper. 

I'll take a 1 point victory. The Stamps have a healthy receiving corps. Davaris Daniels is an option if Dickenson wants him. Their D was missing 4 starters last time we played them & they're all back for this game. This is going to be a tough game but I believe our time has finally come. We can win this. 

Tourist hits. 

Love that helmet on Wilkinson, looks like Justin Medlock...

yeah..cheeped out with the quality of the seats..I see many being replaced due to damage or being broken after the winter/offseason...not as big either...and the pitch/slope of seating area is way less...putting you further from the field...and it is a big reason why the crowd noise is more disruptive at IGF...it is right on top of you and you almost actually feel it and it is way more intimidating..and this is from out of players and coaches mouths I have spoken to about it..

Not room for 2 new leagues. let them eat themselves alive. The CFL better get its CBA done sooner rather than sooner. It can't carry on to the eve of training camp next May like the last time under Cohon. 

Bomber game so chances are it'll be Black just because he can. 

I'll take a 1 point victory. The Stamps have a healthy receiving corps. Davaris Daniels is an option if Dickenson wants him. Their D was missing 4 starters last time we played them & they're all back for this game. This is going to be a tough game but I believe our time has finally come. We can win this. 

That job has made Suzuki extremely wealthy. Just like Al Gore. Rich people like big homes. Not small ones. Stands to reason that if the Average Joe in Winnipeg owns a home & maybe a modest cottage in the Whiteshell or on lake Winnipeg that a rich person would have one or more residences elsewhere.

He played for the Toronto Rifles of the Intercontinental Football league where Cahill coached him & Don Jonas. Wilkie played for the Argos from 1968 thru the 69 season.  Jonas played for the Argos in 1970 before being shipped off to the Bombers. Wilkie played for the Lions in 1970 but started only one game before being released & signed by the Eskimos. 
Interestingly enough, a football writer in the US did a story on Jonas in the early 70's when he was still playing & called him The best quarterback not playing in the NFL". 
 
Here is Wilkie handing the ball off to Dave Raimey after the big trade. In today's game you'd never see a starting qb play with a gut like that. No matter how good he was. Nutrition along with  year round conditioning & strength programs put an end to that. 
 

I had forgotten about this game & in reality it was my all time favourite.  Here are some of my thoughts about it. 
August, 1969. Winnipeg Stadium. The Saskatchewan Roughriders vs the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Bombers had just traded superstar running back Dave Raimey to the Argos the week before. The Bombers had hoped that 1968's highly touted rookie qb John Schneider would begin to show potential to become the team's long term starter replacing Ken Ploen who had retired after the 1967 season. However, Schneider struggled mightily in 1968 behind a porous OL.  The reality was that other than Raimey & flanker Ken Nielsen there was little or no talent to speak of surrounding him to get the ball to.
In those days, Neither individual teams or the CFL kept track of the number of sacks teams gave up. Had they done so, the Bombers would have led the league by a wide margin in that category. Schneider's stats in 1968 showed that he threw almost 3 1/2 times as many picks (28) than TD passes (8) & his completion percentage was well under half at 44.8%. The fans had turned on Schneider & his confidence was shot. NFL veteran Don Weiss was the backup to Schneider. Rick Cassata the third string qb (another rookie) got very little playing time in 1969  throwing one pass. Casatta was eventually cut only to be picked up by the  Ottawa Rough Riders where he led them to a Grey Cup victory in 1973 (That figures). 
The Bombers started the 1969 season on July 29th with a disastrous home opening  33-0 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.  A game where Schneider went 3 of 10 for 13 yards. Schneider played so badly that he was pulled at halftime & the veteran Weiss went in to mop up but hardly fared any better. The next day he was cut & the John Schneider era sadly came to a merciful end. The Bombers returned the favour by beating the Esks 14-13 in Edmonton a week later on August 4th under the guidance of Don Weiss at qb.
The Bombers then lost the following week in Toronto on August 14th. But before the game,  superstar running back Dave Raimey, who had grown tired of playing for a losing team publicly blasted the Bomber organization in the local Winnipeg media outlets claiming the team wasn't committed to doing what it took to build a winner.  As well as saying Joe Zaleski & his staff were lousy coaches. Raimey demanded a trade to a winning team. However, in his book, "Goodbye Leo" ,  Argos Head Coach Leo Cahill claimed that when the Bombers played the Argos at CNE Stadium on August 14th, the Bombers ran a running play with Raimey going out of bounds at the Argos bench. The 2 had a quick conversation that went something like this: 
Raimey: "I wanna play here, Coach."
Cahill:     "We're working on a trade to get you here."
Raimey:  "What? Really?"
Cahill:     "Yeah.  In the works."
Then Raimey excitedly ran back to the huddle knowing his days as a Bomber were numbered.
A day or two later, the trade was consumated. Going west to the Bombers was Argos veteran qb Wally Gabler (who was now the backup to Tom Wilkinson) with Raimey going east to Toronto. The Bombers were desperate to find a qb who could start & win. They felt that they had their man in Wally Gabler. It was a trade not only made out of desperation but also out of necessity as Raimey had embarrassed the Blue Bombers & especially GM Earl Lunsford with his comments to the media.  That was something Lunsford would not tolerate with his Oklahoma temper & Raimey  knew the consequences of his actions were coming.. 
On August 27, 1969 after less than a week of practice, Gabler started for the team & directed the 1-3 Blue Bombers to a huge 16-14 win over the first place 4-0 Saskatchewan Roughriders.  The win drew some much needed life into a team that would struggle the rest of the 1969 season by finishing dead last in the CFL at 3-12-1. However, for that one game, Wally Gabler was magical in defeating the first place Riders. I remember how big a deal that victory was that night & how for the week following Gabler owned this town. That & the fact that was my very first Blue Bomber game I had ever attended. I was 14 years old & man was I hooked. After the game my friend & I ran onto the grass field at Winnipeg Stadium trying to tackle one another... hooting, hollering & screaming along with hundreds of other kids while the players were going back to their locker rooms. What. A. Great. Memory!

I had forgotten about this game & in reality it was my all time favourite.  Here are some of my thoughts about it. 
August, 1969. Winnipeg Stadium. The Saskatchewan Roughriders vs the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Bombers had just traded superstar running back Dave Raimey to the Argos the week before. The Bombers had hoped that 1968's highly touted rookie qb John Schneider would begin to show potential to become the team's long term starter replacing Ken Ploen who had retired after the 1967 season. However, Schneider struggled mightily in 1968 behind a porous OL.  The reality was that other than Raimey & flanker Ken Nielsen there was little or no talent to speak of surrounding him to get the ball to.
In those days, Neither individual teams or the CFL kept track of the number of sacks teams gave up. Had they done so, the Bombers would have led the league by a wide margin in that category. Schneider's stats in 1968 showed that he threw almost 3 1/2 times as many picks (28) than TD passes (8) & his completion percentage was well under half at 44.8%. The fans had turned on Schneider & his confidence was shot. NFL veteran Don Weiss was the backup to Schneider. Rick Cassata the third string qb (another rookie) got very little playing time in 1969  throwing one pass. Casatta was eventually cut only to be picked up by the  Ottawa Rough Riders where he led them to a Grey Cup victory in 1973 (That figures). 
The Bombers started the 1969 season on July 29th with a disastrous home opening  33-0 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.  A game where Schneider went 3 of 10 for 13 yards. Schneider played so badly that he was pulled at halftime & the veteran Weiss went in to mop up but hardly fared any better. The next day he was cut & the John Schneider era sadly came to a merciful end. The Bombers returned the favour by beating the Esks 14-13 in Edmonton a week later on August 4th under the guidance of Don Weiss at qb.
The Bombers then lost the following week in Toronto on August 14th. But before the game,  superstar running back Dave Raimey, who had grown tired of playing for a losing team publicly blasted the Bomber organization in the local Winnipeg media outlets claiming the team wasn't committed to doing what it took to build a winner.  As well as saying Joe Zaleski & his staff were lousy coaches. Raimey demanded a trade to a winning team. However, in his book, "Goodbye Leo" ,  Argos Head Coach Leo Cahill claimed that when the Bombers played the Argos at CNE Stadium on August 14th, the Bombers ran a running play with Raimey going out of bounds at the Argos bench. The 2 had a quick conversation that went something like this: 
Raimey: "I wanna play here, Coach."
Cahill:     "We're working on a trade to get you here."
Raimey:  "What? Really?"
Cahill:     "Yeah.  In the works."
Then Raimey excitedly ran back to the huddle knowing his days as a Bomber were numbered.
A day or two later, the trade was consumated. Going west to the Bombers was Argos veteran qb Wally Gabler (who was now the backup to Tom Wilkinson) with Raimey going east to Toronto. The Bombers were desperate to find a qb who could start & win. They felt that they had their man in Wally Gabler. It was a trade not only made out of desperation but also out of necessity as Raimey had embarrassed the Blue Bombers & especially GM Earl Lunsford with his comments to the media.  That was something Lunsford would not tolerate with his Oklahoma temper & Raimey  knew the consequences of his actions were coming.. 
On August 27, 1969 after less than a week of practice, Gabler started for the team & directed the 1-3 Blue Bombers to a huge 16-14 win over the first place 4-0 Saskatchewan Roughriders.  The win drew some much needed life into a team that would struggle the rest of the 1969 season by finishing dead last in the CFL at 3-12-1. However, for that one game, Wally Gabler was magical in defeating the first place Riders. I remember how big a deal that victory was that night & how for the week following Gabler owned this town. That & the fact that was my very first Blue Bomber game I had ever attended. I was 14 years old & man was I hooked. After the game my friend & I ran onto the grass field at Winnipeg Stadium trying to tackle one another... hooting, hollering & screaming along with hundreds of other kids while the players were going back to their locker rooms. What. A. Great. Memory!

Really just a half as Matt Nicholls didn't know who he was until late August. Imagine what his numbers could have been if Matty had been throwing to him earlier. Hopefully they move him inside to slot so he'll be even busier next season.

I had forgotten about this game & in reality it was my all time favourite.  Here are some of my thoughts about it. 
August, 1969. Winnipeg Stadium. The Saskatchewan Roughriders vs the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Bombers had just traded superstar running back Dave Raimey to the Argos the week before. The Bombers had hoped that 1968's highly touted rookie qb John Schneider would begin to show potential to become the team's long term starter replacing Ken Ploen who had retired after the 1967 season. However, Schneider struggled mightily in 1968 behind a porous OL.  The reality was that other than Raimey & flanker Ken Nielsen there was little or no talent to speak of surrounding him to get the ball to.
In those days, Neither individual teams or the CFL kept track of the number of sacks teams gave up. Had they done so, the Bombers would have led the league by a wide margin in that category. Schneider's stats in 1968 showed that he threw almost 3 1/2 times as many picks (28) than TD passes (8) & his completion percentage was well under half at 44.8%. The fans had turned on Schneider & his confidence was shot. NFL veteran Don Weiss was the backup to Schneider. Rick Cassata the third string qb (another rookie) got very little playing time in 1969  throwing one pass. Casatta was eventually cut only to be picked up by the  Ottawa Rough Riders where he led them to a Grey Cup victory in 1973 (That figures). 
The Bombers started the 1969 season on July 29th with a disastrous home opening  33-0 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.  A game where Schneider went 3 of 10 for 13 yards. Schneider played so badly that he was pulled at halftime & the veteran Weiss went in to mop up but hardly fared any better. The next day he was cut & the John Schneider era sadly came to a merciful end. The Bombers returned the favour by beating the Esks 14-13 in Edmonton a week later on August 4th under the guidance of Don Weiss at qb.
The Bombers then lost the following week in Toronto on August 14th. But before the game,  superstar running back Dave Raimey, who had grown tired of playing for a losing team publicly blasted the Bomber organization in the local Winnipeg media outlets claiming the team wasn't committed to doing what it took to build a winner.  As well as saying Joe Zaleski & his staff were lousy coaches. Raimey demanded a trade to a winning team. However, in his book, "Goodbye Leo" ,  Argos Head Coach Leo Cahill claimed that when the Bombers played the Argos at CNE Stadium on August 14th, the Bombers ran a running play with Raimey going out of bounds at the Argos bench. The 2 had a quick conversation that went something like this: 
Raimey: "I wanna play here, Coach."
Cahill:     "We're working on a trade to get you here."
Raimey:  "What? Really?"
Cahill:     "Yeah.  In the works."
Then Raimey excitedly ran back to the huddle knowing his days as a Bomber were numbered.
A day or two later, the trade was consumated. Going west to the Bombers was Argos veteran qb Wally Gabler (who was now the backup to Tom Wilkinson) with Raimey going east to Toronto. The Bombers were desperate to find a qb who could start & win. They felt that they had their man in Wally Gabler. It was a trade not only made out of desperation but also out of necessity as Raimey had embarrassed the Blue Bombers & especially GM Earl Lunsford with his comments to the media.  That was something Lunsford would not tolerate with his Oklahoma temper & Raimey  knew the consequences of his actions were coming.. 
On August 27, 1969 after less than a week of practice, Gabler started for the team & directed the 1-3 Blue Bombers to a huge 16-14 win over the first place 4-0 Saskatchewan Roughriders.  The win drew some much needed life into a team that would struggle the rest of the 1969 season by finishing dead last in the CFL at 3-12-1. However, for that one game, Wally Gabler was magical in defeating the first place Riders. I remember how big a deal that victory was that night & how for the week following Gabler owned this town. That & the fact that was my very first Blue Bomber game I had ever attended. I was 14 years old & man was I hooked. After the game my friend & I ran onto the grass field at Winnipeg Stadium trying to tackle one another... hooting, hollering & screaming along with hundreds of other kids while the players were going back to their locker rooms. What. A. Great. Memory!

Thank God. 

Thank God. 

From 1959...