Rich

um... that's not how time works. seems like since we make fun of Flory's releases (rightly so) we ought to hold the league to the same standard. I think it was rejected by the PA in the morning so they sent it directly to the players after that in the afternoon. Either that or they built a flux capacitor and managed to harness 1.21 gigawatts.

This is encouraging.

So the commish offer 1k to 3k bonuses if they sign the leagues offer. The CFLPA counters with 15k bonuses to all vets? Ridiculous. I hope the majority of the players show up anyway when camp opens. Players deserve a raise. But their asks have to be realistic for a league where half the teams lose money and where team have teetered off and on on the brink of bankruptcy for the last 20 years.

No deal means current CBA remains in effect does it not. Unless the CFLPA calls for a strike vote prior to camps opening (which means shits gone REALLY BAD) camps will open with vets coming in Don't think so. I believe the players have said they wouldn't play without an agreement. That may change if the two sides are close.

Just curious, by this rational if everyone stopped using the N word tomorrow, then in 20 years a pro sports team started up and called themselves that you would have no problem with it because it is a deprecated term?

Rich, And do you think that he actually paid for those tickets with his own money? And do you think he took the bus, or got dropped off by his driver? No idea if they were his personal seats or belonged to the city. Likely they were expensed to one of his businesses. And no, I don't think he took the bus. But if he did, at least he got to ride for free last year.

Nice leadership statement coming from our new QB. Wonder what facility they would be able to get to practice in. Are all the players still flying in? Who is paying for their flights if there is a strike?

I'm definitely in the camp that agrees that the Bombers should be charged to going rate. However there is a subsidy in that. The money you pay transit doesn't cover their costs. They are subsidized. For the examples you sited, they pretty much use the regular existing transit system. For the arena, this is the benefit of being downtown. For the Bombers there isn't sufficient "regular" buses to bring people to the game. So there is additional costs incurred to shuttle all those people in and out. So there is an additional cost to the city and tax payer. However, public transportation exists for this very reason. The city will have a traffic nightmare if there aren't enough buses to bring people in and out. Providing this infrastructure is part of their responsibility for the safety of its citizens and those that live in the area.

Katz had Bomber season tickets in our section last year. He often left early and didn't show up to all games, but at least he supported the club. Everyone pretty much left him alone, but I wonder if the same would be said this year. Won't be able to find out or say anything to him as we've moved sections.

I think it is great that they bring him in. It is win / win even if he never will get drafted. You never have a shortage of QB arms at TC. Having him throw some passes during TC relieves the stress on the arms of the other QBs. And for Yantz, he gets the experience of a pro camp.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnipeg_Blue_Bombers http://www.cflapedia.com/teams/winnipeg.html

www.bluebombers.com Updated look for a new season. It is a bit brighter and with the washed out picture of IGF in the back, I think the content pops out more. Any thoughts?

It is over 1/2 million dollars per year.

Actually, David Asper and Brock Bulbuck spent $500,000 of the Bombers' money to maintain full control over the Board. Shame on the BOD for allowing their personal issues to cost the club this much money. Or the BOD spent $500k to not give in and play Katz' game of crony politics.

According to Wikipedia, this is the reason Joe Louis was called the Brown Bomber: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Louis I'm mixed on the Redskins name. Is it racist? Probably, however it doesn't conjure images of racism in my mind when I hear it. It conjures images of a football team. Not sure how native americans feel about it. How long, or is it much of a stretch that this gets extended to the Bombers, who are essentially named after a racial slur on Joe Louis? What about the Eskimos?

Interesting read from Drew Edwards here http://scratchingpost.thespec.com/2014/05/cflpa-gave-away-the-thing-they-want-most-revenue-sharing.html

Deleted a few posts in this thread. Let's try to keep this on topic and not devolve into racial slurs and what may or may not be common place.

Assuming it happens, anyone planning to attend this year? BLUE BOMBERS 2014 TRAINING CAMP OUTLINE WEDNESDAY, MAY 28 ? FRIDAY, MAY 30TH (ROOKIE CAMP) Wednesday, May 28 Practice: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Thursday and Friday, May 29 - 30 Practice: 2:05 p.m. - 4:05 p.m. SATURDAY, May 31 Veterans report to camp for physicals and meetings. The Bombers are scheduled to practice the following days/times. Please note, this is subject to change. SUNDAY, JUNE 1 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (second practice begins at 11:05 a.m.) MONDAY, JUNE 2 7:50am - 12:20 p.m. TUESDAY, JUNE 3 7:50am - 12:10 p.m. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4 7:50am - 12:20 p.m. THURSDAY, JUNE 5 7:50am - 12:30pm FRIDAY, JUNE 6 7:50am - 12:10 p.m. SATURDAY, JUNE 7 TBA SUNDAY, JUNE 8 1:30 p.m. - 4:05 p.m. MONDAY, JUNE 9 Toronto Argonauts at Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 7:30 p.m. CT, Investors Group Field (680 CJOB, TSN) TUESDAY, JUNE 10 3:00 p.m. - 5:20 p.m. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11 7:50am - 12:20 p.m. THURSDAY, JUNE 12 7:50am - 12:10 p.m. FRIDAY, JUNE 13 Travel to Calgary SATURDAY, JUNE 14 Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Calgary Stampeders, 7:00 p.m. MT, McMahon Stadium, (680 CJOB, TSN2) SUNDAY, JUNE 15 Travel to Winnipeg (no practice) MONDAY, JUNE 16 3:10 p.m. - 5:20 p.m. TUESDAY, JUNE 17 7:50am - 12:10 p.m. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18 9:40am - 12:10 p.m. 7:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (mock game)

Darren Cameron @Darren_Cameron · 8m 2014 #Bombers rookie camp to open Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Thursday and Friday practices begin at 2:05 p.m.

The owners would sign this deal in a second if the players agree to no cap tied to revenues.

Read the transcript and decide ... http://deadspin.com/exclusive-the-extended-donald-sterling-tape-1568291249

Healthy is relative in the CFL. If you look historically, healthy means not losing money, breaking even, and making a small profit. They also reportedly have the books on 7 of the 8 teams. Why don't they talk about the profitability directly of last year? The leagues profitability fluctuates too much to look at a single year, a single statement in isolation. This one bothers me. As we've seen in Winnipeg, being forced to skimp on other areas of the operation can cause an inequitable playing field in terms of less coaches, less appealing travel in terms of attracting FA, etc. Other then the big 4, other sports don't have a cap tied to league revenues. The CFL is not to the same scale as the NBA, MLB, NFL, or NHL. Their revenues are so huge that basic costs like travel, coaches, trainers, per diems, etc don't affect their bottom lines like they do Who cares about revenue. Profitability didn't rise nearly by that much. All this in a year where we weren't able to make a mortgage payment. With a new stadium comes new costs as well. This is where tying a cap to revenues is problematic. And making that assumption is just plain wrong. They are different markets who have had problems being profitable in the past. So much so that Ottawa has folded ... twice. Again, the CFL doesn't experience the same economies of scale as the other leagues so why bring it up. It is an Apple's to Orange's argument. You report based on 3 of the most profitable teams, or half the league. Give us the numbers on how your proposal affects the bottom half of the league because really the CFL can't afford to lose a single franchise. Maybe not this year because that revenue isn't factored into the numbers yet, but it certainly will next year. I think the CLFPA is still a bit out of touch on their expectations. At least their % of revenue ask seems to have come down to a realistic numbers. Still don't think the owners will go for it in the long run. Good news that they are getting back together on Wednesday.

I would trade Buff now if you can get a decent return for him. Especially if he ends up offing on the 3rd line next season. A man that big who reportedly isn't the biggest fitness fanatic will experience a sharp decline in his play. I'd rather that happen on another team if we can get a decent return for him now.

This "2 new active roster players" thing is being misinterpreted by a lot of people, fans and players alike. There are no new costs associated with the 2 new roster spots, they're simply expanding the game day roster from 42 to 44 and decreasing the size of the reserve roster from 4 to 2. It's still 46 game cheques being handed out (the players on the 4 man reserve get a game cheque too) it's just that teams can now dress 2 extra players instead of paying them to stand in civvies on the sideline. Do you know if those guys travelled with the teams last year? If not, there would be a minimal cost increase to the clubs for this on travel.