bigg jay

He was fairly highly regarded. The CFL had him as their #2 ranked player in the fall before he started to slide (#6 in the winter & # 12 in the spring). We got him at 17 so a bit of a steal when you figure a few of the guys rated higher would be getting NFL looks. FWIW, Ferguson had him going 3rd in his final mock draft while Hodge had him going 4th in his first mock (16th in his 2nd).

This. Sideshow Ed is now claiming he meant there's no Michael Jordan level superstars. That's true but there are very few people in any sport that have achieved that level of fame - that's beyond a superstar to me and is more like a cultural icon. The CFL absolutely has it's own superstars, even if they aren't known world wide.

Canadian DE Isaiah Bagnah posts pedestrian numbers at Big 12 Pro Day - 3DownNation Less NFL interest is great for CFL teams but probably not so great for the player. Bagnah was ranked 4th in the latest rankings and is the highest rated player scheduled to be participating at the national combine.

It was listed on the CFL transactions page a while ago (March 7th) but the club only announced it officially yesterday. Winnipeg Blue Bombers add defensive back - Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Probably has a pretty decent scarf collection too!

He's highly impactful on the number of posts on MBB but on the field...

Tbf, there haven't really been a ton of Bisons go at the top of the draft. Demski is the only one I can think of that we passed on (took Chungh at #2 that year). Maybe Zach Williams but he was the last pick of the 3rd round so not a late pick but not a super early one either. There are 5 Bisons currently playing in the league (not including guys like Gassama who have yet to crack a roster) and we now have 3 of them so we do like having them here.

That's why I said startling line-up. Thomas getting cut is too much to ask for! 😂

Star Wars has always had a huge British element to it (from the Empire being based on Imperial England, to many actors being British and much of the filming/production being done in England). Lucas, at times, gets too much credit and not enough blame (IMO). His writing has always been a bit clunky - his ex-wife cleaned up a lot of the dialogue in the original trilogy to make it work. She did not work on the prequels and it showed. You also can't really say anything past 1981 strayed from his vision when then prequels (1999-2005) were 100% him and they were no where near as good as the original trilogy. The original series had different directors/producers and such so that wasn't a huge change (those 3 films each had a different director, 2 different producers and 3 screenwriters) but Lucas was there to handle the overall story for the first 6 movies, which the last 3 did not. I think the last 3 films could have been better if there was some continuity off the screen in overseeing the story to make it consistent. They started out good on that path by bringing Lawrence Kasdan (co-writer on Empire Strikes Back & Return of the Jedi) to co-write The Force Awakens so they fit well with the original trilogy. Abrams was offered The Last Jedi but turned it down (because Disney's schedule had no time off between filming the projects & he needed a break) so they brought Rian Johnson in. Johnson had no connection to the series and he had his own vision, so he went in a different direction with some things. Abrams came back for Rise of Skywalker but now had to to tie his original story into what Johnson had done and it wasn't great as a result. I think if Abrams had been able to do all 3, it would have been much better but we'll never know.

I don't think Miller had any coaching aspirations but it happened. I only thought it might be a possibility for BA based on the way he's been described as essentially being an on-field coach for us.

Hoping that's 95 days until Thomas is kicked off the starting lineup!

Yeah was hoping he'd go the Mike Miller route and stick around as a coach but if he still has the itch to play then I guess it wasn't meant to be.

3DN misinterpreted his goodbye to the Bombers as him announcing his retirement. His agent clarified he's still looking to play next season. "He took to social media on Sunday to thank the team for their time together, which some outlets, including this one, interpreted as a retirement message. Instead, Alexander’s agent reached out to 3DownNation to explain that his client isn’t retiring and is still actively looking for his next playing opportunity."

Found this interesting: Some in CFL circles believe the team will lose not only its first-round pick but also its second-round pick, meaning the violation will be over $300,000, though this remains unconfirmed.

Currently pick 7th as Edmonton used their first round pick in the supplemental draft. We'll move to 6th if BC does lose their pick too.

Yeah bit of a brain fart on my end, not sure why I was remembering Babych as a forward. I was looking at Christian's last season with the Jets (82-83) & almost half of his points involved Babych somehow (meaning both guys a point on the play). He was putting up points with MacLean early that season but that didn't seem to last - DeBlois was the only guy he really kept scoring with all season. Hopkins was mostly in the minors that year (only 12 games with the Jets).

Not so sure about that. Christian did put up some good numbers but he wasn't here all that long (just over 3 seasons) and was more than happy to get out of here at the first opportunity. He was pretty open about it when we traded him to Washington. He had a far longer career with the Caps than he did here. His time with Arniel as a team mate did briefly overlap but they rarely played on a line together. Christian was mostly with Dave Babych and a rotating 3rd player (mainly Luchowich, MacLean or DeBlois) while Arniel was with Smail/Boschman/Watters. Christian did get the only assist on Arniel's first ever NHL goal so they did have some brief spots together.

Not a surprise. He had a bad season and was targeted/picked on a ton. Also dealt with injuries all season so maybe he bounces back next season.

We stopped using the "free" shuttles years ago - way too many issues and even if you got on one of the large busses, it was always a game of roulette to see when you would get dropped off as they would stop at multiple resorts. We found booking a private transport company to be much faster/easier. Once you got your luggage, you pass through the gauntlet of time share sharks and just look for your name on a sign, and you're off in minutes. Depending on the company you choose, you would get (or could pre-order) cold drinks for your trip to your resort or if you need to make a stop (bank or store maybe), they will do that too. It's an extra cost for sure and more expensive than a taxi but when your vacation time is limited, we feel it' worth it to not be waiting at the airport/resort for god knows how long before getting picked up.

His build definitely isn't the same but that's partly by choice. He's changed how he works out as he's gotten older and doesn't care quite as much about his physique (still cares, just focuses on other aspects) . 54 but you're right. He's been doing it for over 30 years now consistently (no multiple "retirement" breaks like others have done.

They mention it, briefly, in the 3DN article.

We've been told (by one poster... repeatedly) that Booch is just a fan - I wouldn't put too much stock into this opinion. 😂

The shiny new stadium is 12 years old now so I'm not sure that's quite accurate. We did get a slight bump the 1st year it was open but attendance dipped to previous levels (or lower) after the first year, suggesting that a winning team had more of an effect than the new stadium. Last 15 years of average attendance: 2024 - 31.1k 2023 - 30.4k 2022 - 28.6k 2021 - 25.9k (Covid year - attendance most likely affected by vaccine mandates). 2019 - 25.4k 2018 - 26.8k 2017 - 27.6k 2016 - 25.9k 2015 - 26.7k 2014 - 28.3k 2013 (first year of the new stadium) - 30.6k 2012 - 28.3k 2011 - 29.5k 2010 - 26k 2009 - 25.7k 3DN had an article a few years ago where they showed how Winnipeg was the most consistent franchise for attendance over the last 50 years - not bad considering there were some pretty terrible teams and a 29 year GC drought in that time. How CFL attendance has changed over the past fifty years (with a close look at B.C. and Toronto) - 3DownNation

A bit different comparing players to coaches. Wins are the only real measure of success for a coach with GC wins being most important one. Milt didn't win a cup but he re-wrote the record book for receiving yards and touchdowns so there's other ways to prove his successes.