Noeller

As the current olympic quadrennial comes to a close, virtually every team on tour is breaking up. They'll reassemble in the fall for a new quadrennial. Couldn't care less what happens to most teams, but very curious about the Manitoba ones. Both Fleury and Jones teams have announced they're disbanding, and Einar's team will have something to say after the Worlds, I'm sure. As for the men, I can't wait for the McEwen/Carruthers experiment to finally come to and end. Not sure what'll happen next, but we need something good in this province. Koe's team announced their break up today, so I wonder if BJ Neufeld comes home again. Matt Dunstone, Colton Lott, Kyle Doering....all exceptional young Manitoba curlers who I'd love to see competing, seriously, out of Manitoba. We'll see soon....

The CFL’s partnership with data and technology firm Genius Sports has been billed as a major win for the league, but it could spell the end of Canadian football as we know it. In the midst of commissioner Randy Ambrosie’s cross-country road trip, Sportsnet reporter Arash Madani told The Rod Pedersen Show that the CFL’s new partner has been vocal about their support for a conversion to four downs. “I’m told that Genius Sports has really made a push to the league office about four downs and that Randy Ambrosie has let the teams know and let some of the football people know that there is a real push towards four downs from their now partner over at Genius Sports,” Madani said Wednesday. “Keep that in mind as this kind of unfolds, that some of the reporting that came out of Grey Cup week, it’s getting a real push now from one of the key stakeholders on the business side of that entire operation.” The same week that the CFL unveiled it’s groundbreaking relationship with Genius, reports emerged that the league would be undergoing a review of its entire operation, including weighing the merits of three versus four downs. The idea was met with swift backlash from fans and commentators, but appears to have powerful supporters. Genius Sports owns a minority stake in the league’s new commercial arm, CFL Ventures, allowing it to profit off of the revenue it is intended to help create. The high profile firm is set to provide everything from tailored marketing research to revolutionary new broadcast technologies, as well as spear-heading the CFL’s approach to legal sports gambling, but may see the operation as more viable with a more familiar four-down model. On Tuesday, Ambrosie was asked about the possibility of an Americanized CFL in an appearance in Calgary and avoided answering the question directly. “I’m constantly struck by the quotes that I read that are attributed to the league. Look, I think there are three fundamental priorities right now and they are this,” he rambled. “One is to use this bargaining to build a long-term mutually beneficial partnership with the players. That is our number one priority. The second priority is to use this product review process that’s underway to learn and educate ourselves and to work with the ambition of building the fast, funnest, most dynamic game of football on the planet. That’s it. Funnest, fastest, most dynamic game of football on the planet is our ambition. And the third is to grow our fan base.” “Those are the three priorities. That’s what’s driving our agenda, that’s what’s driving our efforts and those are gonna be the things that we’re gonna be focused on. You have to, for your sanity and for the sake of relationships with all of our key stakeholders, stay away from those specific solutions because they drag you down a rabbit hole and they never lead to anything good.” The CFL rules committee is set to meet in April, but a monumental shift in how the game is played likely won’t be possible on such a short timeline. Fans should expect this controversy to percolate within league circles for quite some time before a decision is made either way.

Coaching also depends on what happens with other teams. I'd hate to make a commitment to Lowry and then all of a sudden the Isles toss Trotz after this season (they've been awful, but we know Trotz isn't the issue...)

Don't look now, but the Jays are building one of the best teams in the majors. Matt Chapman today via trade and they're working on more. Already have one of the best starting rotations in the AL, and now the infield is coming together.

I don't know what the right answer is, but I'm hoping they have the "summit" that's being talked about, with the WCF, CCA, players and broadcasters (all "stakeholders") participating. Get to the bottom of how to fix the season, from the Tour to the Provincials/Nationals.

absolutely love those unis they wore last night. Sharpest kits in the league!

that's a small part of it....they ALL have sponsorships now. Even the teams that aren't elite...the ones who curl regionally....all have sponsors to defray the costs. There are no longer expenses for these curlers, so everything they win (and then some) is all take-home.

The truth is that curling is now a professional sport. There is enough money available to them that most can make a full time job out if it. And yiu need to, in order to be good enough to make the Olympics. And making the Olympics is the ultimate goal of every athlete. And that's saying nothing about the money that comes to Oly athletes now. The Brier was the ultimate goal when money wasn't the object. Everything has changed for better or for worse

Yes we really need to talk more about Long Covid and those "years after the fact" effects. There's research coming in every day that suggests people who had covid, even with mild symptoms, see their brain shrink and possibility of early onset Alzheimer's. I can't stress enough how everyone needs to do everything they can to not get covid ever, and how we need to protect everyone as much as humanly possible.

Said it really pissed them off. Good... Quit whining and go out there and hustle. You've got the best, most understanding fan base in the league... Don't take them for granted.

Calgary DESPERATELY needs a new stadium. It's the worst in the league by a lot...

Wheeler whined about the Bronx cheer during the 1st intermission interview... Seemed incredibly spoiled.

For me, it's a VERY small ask to maintain protections (mitigation measures) to protect the most vulnerable among us who might actually die. Wearing a mask is the most innocuous, basic thing I could so to protect someone who's immunocompromised and could die, even after being vaccinated. I'm perfectly fine with any and all measures they want to implement. Vaxx passports shouldn't have been abandoned... They should have been made stricter.

I should have phrased it better...."the governments will force people to just live with it.....or die"

You're right that the cases will spike again, you're wrong that anything will be "comprimised". The governments are done shutting anything down. Numbers will go up and down and people will just live with it.

Randy Ambrosie on a bit of a tour (hopefully SF27 is in attendance..lulz) and in YYC today, there's some interesting chatter:

not sure anything. She'd said in her retirement post that she's looking forward to spending more time at the rink cheering him on. Said she might play some mixed doubles with him, but that he'd really have to convince her, as she's just not that interested in playing right now.

Mike is just kind of unbalanced. That's what I've learned. Reid is the calmer head that should be calling the game and throwing last rock, but I'm not sure Mike is capable of being in a subservient role. The sooner this team implodes, the better. It was never meant to be. Our best men's curler right now is Matt Dunstone, who is living in the BC interior now and skipping a bunch of knuckle dragging cousin fuckers from one province over. Colton Lott and Kyle Doering are really good, as well, and will be taking the leap soon, just not sure it'll be in Manitoba, unfortunately. Cathy and Ron Gauthier's son Jacques is going to be a really good one, as well. Fresh out of winning Manitoba juniors and will be a regular on tour very soon, I suspect. The issue is how many stay in MB to play full time, and how many leave to skip teams out of province. Make no mistake, Manitoba still produces the best curlers in the world as we always have.....it's just that Oly and WCT money move them elsewhere.

I completely understand what you're saying, and you're right....the RRHOF embarrassed itself years ago by inducting artists that have nothing to do with Rock and Roll. Hip Hop and Disco acts...honestly the ANTITHESIS of Rock......are in the Hall. It's a joke. So THANKFULLY Dolly has some integrity and said "Nope....I'm not Rock" and is staying out, because the Hall is too stupid to understand this themselves.

I don't know what any of that has to do with Rock....

If I may.......*ahem* "BUT WHY ISN'T KYLE WALTERS BRINGING IN RECEIVERS? JOHN HUFNAGEL IS ALWAYS BRINGING IN RECEIVERS! CALGARY IS GREAT! WE ARE NOT!!"

5'11" - 180lbs.