Jacquie

Because Burke said he was told not to talk about it... I hope you're not serious. If he actually said that publicly he is a complete moron. He is serious. That did happen. One of Burke's many blunders we all shake our head about after. It's not a surprise to me anymore. How is that a blunder? Did you ever think there may be a legitimate reason why he can't talk about it. For example, sometimes the players don't want it discussed like when Marcellus Bowman didn't want any details about his knee injury made public.

Considering the Bombers were in negotiations with him after he was released by the Patriots why would you think we wouldn't be trying to get him back now.

I see what you did there. You definitely have an interesting mind (and that is a compliment).

Could this be damage control by Tillman...after realizing how badly he screwed up? That article is from the day the trade was announced. He didn't admit it may have been a mistake until months later. I might be remembering wrong but it seems to me that when that trade happened there was a lot of "Ray was on the block?" sentiment going around the CFL at the time so it seems unlikely that Tillman would have been shopping him around to everyone, the CFL can't keep secrets like that. I agree. As well, both Tillman and Barker said it was Barker that initially called Tillman, not the other way round.

There's no proof his previous agent advised him incorrectly. His former agent has represented a number of CFL players and still does. Also it appears his initial claim of not being offered a 1+1 contract was dropped since there hasn't been a mention of that since this first went public iirc.

What sad news. Condolences to his family and friends.

If that were how it went then the Ticats would be in the wrong because the CBA says they have to offer a 1+1 contract as an option, not just a 2+1.

These questions and more will be answered on the next episode of "All My Footballs".

From an article I read it said the arbitrator ruled the letter was not clear but that it wasn't enough to void the contract.

According to what the Bombers said a few months ago, yes.

Just because the agent was unregistered doesn't mean he didn't know what he was doing. The same agent has other CFL players for clients (including Buck).

If he doesn't get a sniff from the NFL there will be CFL teams lining up to sign him.

And then people will complain about the Bombers lack of vets on the roster.

Really it is the CFL's fault for not following their own rules. It wasn't the CFL that wasn't following rules, it was the Ticats. This is from another article about the court ruling: Palmer was the arbitrator btw. It seems the Court disagreed about it not being enough to void the contract.

The CFL and Ticats have said they are going to appeal the ruling so I believe Williams should still be considered under contract until the appeal is heard. Players can represent themselves or iirc have a family member represent them - that's not a problem. When it comes to agents they are supposed to be registered with the CFLPA. Williams' agent at the time was not (and still isn't) registered with the CFLPA. But as was said that had nothing to do with the ruling.

You might want to consider using a different term than "nips". This sentence could be read a completely different way if you were a red neck.Funny - the first thing that came to my mind was Salisbury House.

Don't remember that. Anyone? From Bender at the Sun back in Dec 2009:

It was Nelson's decision to limit Simpson's playing time that lead to Simpson asking to be traded. At one point Simpson said his beef was with Nelson and he knew Kelly was supporting his DC like any coach would. The blame for the other crap that blew up from that (Simpson's alleged bad-mouthing the team, the banning from the facilities) could be spread to a few people including Kelly.

And of course, his response: Kirk Penton ‏@PentonKirk3h @jacquiewinnipeg You are right Jackie! My sources are fine, though. That was a mixup between me and my editor. I told him later I question his attention to detail since he spelled my name wrong when it's right in front of him.

In one instance the reason he was under the radar though was Kelly took all the heat for him. It seems like a lot of people blame Kelly for the Barrin Simpson problem when it was Nelson that Simpson was upset with, not Kelly.

I have less and less faith in the media with each passing day. Penton runs his "The Insiders" column each week which today featured a tidbit which highlighted the questionable knowledge of one of his sources. What kind of credibility can a source have when he refers to Hugh O'Neill as being an o-lineman. And also says something about Penton for running it.

He isn't a consultant. He's their LB coach.

It was open for nominations.

How often has that happened in the past 10 years (any CFL team)? I'd say ALL of the time. Why would a GM work closely with someone he doesn't know or like? And he does all the hirings when it comes to football ops. When Hufnagel was hired by the Stamps he kept Barker. When Barker took over as GM of the Argos I don't recall a big purge (a couple scouts let go iirc). Football operations staff in Hamilton didn't change with Austin being hired from what I can see. Hodgkinson was Asst GM for Taman, Kelly and Mack. Hervey didn't bring in anyone new. If after some time has gone by if the new GM thinks they don't work well together I doubt his hands would be tied then.

A few tweets from the player: MIKE SIMS-WALKER ‏@MikeSimsWalker 21 Aug Man these Canada teams keep calling..... Decisions decisions. MIKE SIMS-WALKER ‏@MikeSimsWalker 22 Aug Picking up my Lil man to spend my last few days of freedom with him, before I leave for Canada.... MIKE SIMS-WALKER ‏@MikeSimsWalker 26 Aug Orlando its been real, Canada don't blink I'm on ya a**.... He's also tweeted that he has arrived.