Rich

The whole point of an arbitrator though is to be independent of both parties. If they were on the CFL payroll, then ultimately they would report to Orridge, and would defeat the purpose of the appeal.

Things are heating up as we enter the second half of the season, we now have a 3-way tie for 1st and another 4 people in 2nd, just one pick out of 1st. Note that this is an early week, all picks must be in by Wednesday @ 6:30 PM.

Alberta posts have been moved to here:

I think they will keep doing what they are doing until they are down by two scores or more in a game. Right now, the game plan is to keep things close, don't give up any turnovers, and capitalize on other teams mistakes.

There is also a group of posters on this site who feel that any criticism of Nichols is somehow an endorsement of Willy. I'm tickled pink that we've won 4 in a row and I'm not at all clamouring for a return to Willy, but where would you rank Nichols in terms of starting QBs in the league? At this point, I'd have to put him in the bottom third. Nichols has been a very good game manager, he hasn't shown to be a QB who can put the team on his back and win. The field position that the D and ST have given this team has been a huge part of our success. Part of this may be play calling. I wonder if the game plan has been to be conservative on O because of the D and ST. But at some point, the D won't be able to cause 5+ turnovers in a game and the O is going to have to pick up the slack on their own. I'd really like to see what Nichols can do if they opened things up a bit and got a little more aggressive. We might get to see that when some of the receivers return. But in the meantime, I am absolutely loving watching this team, and this defense is an absolute joy to watch.

Toronto is on their bye this week. 4 games, 8 teams, 1 on the bye. The 2nd bye came back in with Ottawa I think. Tidier schedule with 8 teams playing. I think there are 2 weeks where all teams play, and someone gets a short week playing 2 games.

When I click on the link, the price says this for me: CDN$ 9,699.98 + FREE SHIPPING

Yeah I think his career is done. Even when he was playing he wasn't the player he once was.

I think it is his back.

Not many. That's why they get Grade A prospects to do it.

I think for Pronger they get the cap hit but his salary is paid from the injury insurance. Same might be true for Bolland. And Datsyuk I thought retired so doesn't get paid but the cap hit was there because of his age They are basically making their cap space a commodity to take on these contracts, freeing up space for other teams, with the price being young prospects

I don't know why or how this becomes part of the discussion on choosing moderators. I've been around the internet long enough to know that nothing lasts forever. I have never thought this place was above falling apart. Truth be told, if you canvassed the average age of the poster on this site, I'm betting it is way higher than it was on OB 10 years ago. Message boards are the "old ways" of the internet. Facebook, Twitter and whatever other social media du jour is where the younger people tend to flock. I also said I wouldn't pick a poster who is the extreme on the other side of the fence as well. And the reason I wouldn't pick either of those two extremes would be because I believe their ability to be impartial to the other side would be a more difficult task. You are right, no one is impartial all the time, but you can get a feel for how level headed someone is. In fact the decision wouldn't even be based on your view of the team. It would entirely be based on how you post, how you present your opinions, and how you interact with other posters. I would be looking for people who align with the values and how the moderating team believes this site should be run and who could work and get along with the rest of the moderating team. So if your point is that we would only accept people who share those points of view, then yes, of course that is true. If the moderating team isn't all on the same page in what the rules are and what is acceptable, then people are going to get upset in inconsistent moderation, and I have no desire or time to moderate moderators. But where I think you are wrong and are muddying the issue, is that has nothing to do with whether you are critical of the team or not. The moderators on this site are the exact same team of people who moderated and basically ran OB before this site opened. We've added one since. Truth be told I haven't even thought of what qualities I would look for in a new moderator until you brought it up because it isn't something we've had the need to do.

I think the criteria of a moderator would probably be someone in the middle, who is level headed, and not prone to emotional outbursts. Someone too far in either direction (critic or blind fan) would be a poor choice. So yes, we would take someone who is a critic of the team, but not someone who only criticizes the team. Same thing for the other side of the fence. And the ugly truth about moderating, is the more you do it, the less you end up posting and contributing. Sometimes you will engage in a debate and disagree with someone to participate in discussion, and it is taken the wrong way. People can't always separate you the poster from you the moderator. Or it does happen you are engaged in a debate with a poster and you are put in a position where you have to moderate them in that thread or a different one. And at that point you are put in a conflict of interest and you can either let the post go or moderate and take the accusations of abuse of power and crap to follow. You get to the point where it just isn't worth posting anymore or as much, so I'd also have to consider whoso contributions would ultimately be taking away from the site.

I do track stats monthly and the site is busier in both page views (traffic) and posts (activity) when the team is winning. Of course mid winter is the slowest period, there no games, no free agency, not a whole lot to talk about and the "non-regulars" are not even thinking of football. Of the regulars, there are for sure groups of people on both sides of the fence. Those that will post more when the team is winning and those that will post more when the team is losing. But a lot of those people still read the site regularly regardless of what the team is doing. It takes a special kind of fan to still be committed to and passionate about the team when they are doing bad. And that is true whether you are in the so called "positive" or "negative" group. Then there is the group of people that are only interested in following the Bombers when the team is winning. It is the same reason that ticket sales are increased when the team is winning. Interest in the team goes up and people want to join in the fun. There is a buzz and everyone loves a winner. But those people will not come to the site when the team is doing bad because the interest just isn't there. This is why the site gets busier when the team is winning. Some will call these the "bandwagon" fans, but I see no problem with these people. Sports is entertainment, and you should only invest time and energy when you are entertained.

Not worried on him not being signed till TC opens.

Because that is the way the world works. You are going to be wrong more times than not if you believe that someone can do something they have never done before. Especially a 19 year old kid. Any other year of the Jets tenure, I’d agree that Connor was going to be a lock to make the Jets, but when you look at the depth of young players we have lining up for limited roster spots AND throw in the fact that we got to draft the 2nd overall pick who happens to play the same position as Connor, to me it puts doubt on the whole situation. You are either going to move one of them to the RW and have two rookies on your 3rd line, or you are going to have a raw rookie in your top 6 to start the year. I’d prefer to see a young first year NHL player more sheltered to start the year then putting the expectations of having him in your top 6. Let them earn that spot.

An interesting read from the illegal curve guys on some lineup possibilities: http://www.arcticicehockey.com/2016/7/7/12094304/free-agent-fallout-looking-at-the-winnipeg-jets-forward-corps From their take, if Connor is in the lineup, then Burmi and Armia are in the press box. Peluso I think is a for sure to be with the Moose. Copp would also be with the Moose. From some of the rumours you hear swirling about under the table guarantees for NHL money in their first year for NCAA guys to sign in the NHL, I think there is a real possibility Connor is with the Jets this year. And there is no question he has the offensive skill to be playing in the NHL, but because of his size, I really would prefer to see him playing with the Moose to at least start the year and adjust to the pro game.

When Scheifele was Connor's age, he played 4 games and got sent back down to Barrie. Connor will only be about 3 months older (December birthday vs. March). In Scheifele's first full year (and even second) he was continuously getting knocked off the puck and onto the ice. He really couldn't compete physically with NHL players. You could easily make the argument he could have been helped with a year in the Moose. However, the Jets were razor thin on forward depth at the time. We aren't anymore. Scheifele and Ehlers were also top 10 picks. Connor was 17, and while he probably should have gone a little earlier, he definitely wasn't a top 10. Picks outside the top 10 drop for a reason, sometimes talent, sometimes late bloomers, sometimes need more time. Besides all that, every player is different, so these comparisons are silly. Connor's play will decide where he goes, not any comparables. You keep going off here how Connor is a lock to make the team when we've never even seen him play against NHL players. Training camp will ultimately decide where he plays. The Jets have never been in the position they are this year with the depth and young talent at forward. It is going to be a dog fight in training camp for a bunch of players, Connor included.