comedygeek

I just want to clarify that I wasn't trying to demonize the concept of steroids in general -- they absolutely have a medical purpose. I called them unhealthy in the context of using them to attempt to get an advantage in sport, in the same way that using any kind of drug (legal or illegal) to gain a perceived advantage can often get out of control and end up harmful to the body. Steroids, testosterone, etc. for a medically-relevant and doctor-prescribed purpose is absolutely not unhealthy. I still think it's a ridiculous thing to try and do in sport. Too many risks (both professionally and personally), along with the morality of it all (arguable but still a thing).

First question: Why do so many people here seem to know so much about different steroids, their uses, "cycles", etc.? Second question: How are so many people seemingly okay with athletes using them to get an edge, since "everyone does it" or whatever? Besides the cheating aspect of it, wouldn't the fact that it's an incredibly unhealthy and unnatural alone make it a big no-no? I think steroids are far worse that marijuana, even though I'm not a fan of recreational drug use either. I think if we just put it all out in the open, and still had drug testing, we could then see which players needed help and which players were able to work and train as hard as possible by just being disciplined and skilled. It would make me appreciate the efforts and results of those completely clean players all the more.

The biggest concern when this was discussed seemed to be that it would slow down the game, but if the same number of challenges/penalties for unsuccessful challenges are there, then it shouldn't lead to many more existing. What it will do is force consistency in the calling on the field. In the booth, they'll be consistent (or should be), and so if they get it wrong regularly on the field -- and lots of challenges overturn calls -- then those refs won't be working as often (another good initiative by Glen Johnson). For those concerned about refs being publicly called out for the wrong decision, right now if a ref made a clearly wrong call on PI (one way or the other), the commentators and the viewers/listeners at home may spend the whole rest of the game harping on that one missed call and how it affected the outcome of the game. Now, if it's wrong and overturned, the mistake has been acknowledged, it didn't affect the game, and everyone will move on. Much healthier.

That's not true at all. He's getting a promotion, essentially. Still hosting Coach's Corner on HNIC, but also hosting a new Sunday Prime Time hockey night that will get huge ratings. It'll be sad to see him not part of the CBC, though. I doubt he'll be involved in 2016 Olympic coverage now, which with Brian Williams at TSN/CTV truly means an end of an era over there.

I'm going to consider getting a Flex pack after having season tickets the last 2 years. A combination of having to miss about 4 out of the 10 games last year because of different responsibilities (which isn't likely to change this year), plus me being in Europe for the first 2 games of this season, made it seem absurd to get season tickets this year. However, I was pretty happy with the stadium experience. And I'm a smart enough football fan to know that the team should make improvements in enough areas to at the very least be competitive this year (and hopefully improve on that dismal 3-15 record), so the on-field product won't be keeping me away. It's just timing and financial logistics.

Except in the Capital Region, the French are a sizable community. 15% have French as a first language, and over 35% are bilingual. Why they wouldn't come up with a French version of the name to begin with is the real question. But also, why did coming up with a French version mean shortening the English one? Everything this team does makes you scratch your head. Are they trying to emulate the Bombers circa 2012-13?

For those not wanting to do the research: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Joe_Mufferaw

I actually agree with you. I'm happy to have Willy here as our #1, but I think Max Hall is a very capable #2 with a decent amount of CFL starting experience now under his belt. To me, he makes Kevin Glenn an unnecessary pick-up unless we can get Glenn for nothing after a flat-out release from Ottawa. If we didn't have Willy, absolutely I would want Glenn in here as our #1 over Max Hall for a good couple years. But with Willy as our #1, I think I'd rather have a young guy with some room to grow (and proven ability to put up some yardage in the CFL) at our #2 spot. I think if Willy goes down or has any struggles, the drop-off to Hall isn't as significant as others are making it out to be. He ended 2013 much improved.

I hope to god that's not how reporters are taught. They should be reporting the facts not trying to lead people into soundbites that fit the conclusion the reporter wants to have. As someone who is a reporter/journalist/interviewer (though admittedly, not a sports reporter), that absolutely is not standard reporter training. You want to get a good quote, sure, but not by leading people to the conclusion you want. I suppose if you went to the TMZ School of Reporting, you'd get that type of training, but anywhere else (school or practical), you most definitely want to ask open-ended questions that let the interviewee say as much as possible to the point where you get that great quote -- and hopefully an open and honest one.

The best (worst) line from the Wiecek article about the 11 pending free agents is this one: "The list of pending Bombers free agents reads like a who’s who of last year’s team" I would hope so, Paul! It would be weird if we had free agents who came from other teams.

I think Willy got a pay raise because of the way everything went down, but I do believe we would have gone for Willy even if we had signed Collaros or Burris. He probably would've gotten closer to $175-200,000, though. I do believe Willy was part of all scenarios, just not necessarily as our bona fide starter.

We had $200,000 to play with in December and still couldn't sign Henoc... ouch. We could have offered $100,000 signing bonus and not even felt it this year... dude is gonzo. What does that have to do with signing Henoc. He's trying out for the NFL. He wouldn't have signed until he exhausted his options. Yeah, unless we were offering NFL money, there was no way we were going to sign Henoc before 2014. 0% chance.

I'm pretty sure he was kidding. Byron Parker? No, he wasn't. The only person making $400,000 in Montreal was AC.

I like the look of their staff. I don't think they'll win for a couple years because of the difficulty of bringing in enough talent to an expansion team, no matter who's coaching the team. But I think Campbell is going to be a great Head Coach -- he's got bits of experience coaching all 3 facets, plus the family pedigree to boot. Gibson and Nelson aren't explosive choices for coordinators, but I'd take Gibson over Bellefeuille, and Nelson over whoever we end up with. The positional coaches are all solid up-and-comers. Only a Riderfan would say say something like this. We don't even have a DC yet and you already believe Nelson is better. Calling someone a nasty, offensive slur like that should be a bannable offense!

I like the look of their staff. I don't think they'll win for a couple years because of the difficulty of bringing in enough talent to an expansion team, no matter who's coaching the team. But I think Campbell is going to be a great Head Coach -- he's got bits of experience coaching all 3 facets, plus the family pedigree to boot. Gibson and Nelson aren't explosive choices for coordinators, but I'd take Gibson over Bellefeuille, and Nelson over whoever we end up with. The positional coaches are all solid up-and-comers.

I would happily take Ottawa's coaching staff as Winnipeg's. How did the expansion team, that is doomed for at least a couple years, end up with such a solid coaching staff?! Argh.

I agree regarding Sinclair. About half the time, I'm totally on board with both the situations he's bringing up, and his general opinion of them, but the way he goes about things and throws out the opinion of one person he speaks to as fact is preposterous. Also, it is weird that "gay" is blocked out. It's ridiculous, in fact.

Spuds isn't entirely wrong. Our Canadian talent isn't great but it's still a hell of a lot better than it was 4 or 5 years ago. Can anyone actually argue how it was better during the last couple years of Taman or during Kelly's year here? I still maintain that the main reason our Canadian talent isn't elite has nothing to do with drafting, but due to our failure in free agency (both bringing in and retaining free agents). That's 100% on Mack, as are many other failures. But the draft wasn't any worse than any other teams during his 3 seasons, and in some cases better. (I also don't think Spuds is advocating for Mack, especially since he said he expects things to improve under Walters. So cut the guy a bit of slack here!)

It's an almost certainty that several TSN guys end up at Rogers/CityTV to cover games and offer analysis there. I'm mostly curious what Cuthbert does. He clearly likes calling both CFL and NHL, and moved to TSN during the CBC strike/lockout (can't remember which it was) many years back, which brought him back to covering CFL after CBC lost rights. Then he lucked out when TSN gained significant NHL rights again. Now, he'll likely have to choose -- CFL and American NHL coverage, or jump to Rogers and no longer call CFL games. We complain about TSN's play-by-play/colour commentary, but IMO, Cuthbert is the best in the biz at any sport. Would be sad to see him leave the CFL.

Best suggestions I've heard yet (given that we're keeping Walters as GM) are this: AGM: McManus DPP: Worman HC: O'Shea DC/Asst: Stubler OC: Khari QBC: Maas So should this come to fruition (and I'm not saying it will, by any stretch), who fills out our coaching staff? Do we keep Howell because he's got the Winnipeg connection AND played with Khari for several seasons? What good Oline or Dline coaches are available? LB coach? RB coach? And of course, STC?

I love the Bombers, but I also just love the CFL game. But this year did indeed sour me on watching CFL football overall -- I just didn't watch as many games as previous years. I am, however, putting on a Grey Cup Party at the venue I run, because I normally put on events on Sundays and with me disliking both teams it it, it felt like the opportunity to do something different. Anyone who cares to watch the game but not pay too much attention to the details (and also likes to laugh) should come down to the Purple Room at FRAME in the Exchange for a unique, improv-themed Grey Cup Party! https://www.facebook.com/events/364919863653997/

He's asking legitimate questions that we should all be asking. I hate the Riders, and it's painful to see them in a home town Grey Cup game. (It's even more painful that I'll be cheering for the Ticats, a team I also can't stand.) But why have they had so much success over the last 8-10 years and we've had mostly failure? We should definitely be looking at those key points BigBlue posted about. Saying, "Go to the Riders forum!" is like sticking your head in the sand. Let's figure this out so we can reverse our fortunes -- and maybe theirs, too!

I don't think anyone in this board thinks there IS anything. But through rumours, and his connection to Miller, that's the general consensus right now. Things could certainly change depending on who they hire as GM, but the chatter right now is Jones. I think most here would love to see Khari join the coaching staff -- as OC.

No, because if a Tim Burke-led team can win a bunch of football games, then I just don't understand the Canadian Football League anymore and essentially my whole understanding of the way the world works go along with it. My spiral into insanity would probably start with work -- I'd start behaving more erratically, throwing things at the wall and shouting, "One of these has to stick! It finally did for the Bombers!" I'd be fired. Then it'd move to my relationships with my girlfriend and friends. Anytime I'd stub my toe or stay up too late watching TV, I'd email the local media and tell them how it's my girlfriend's fault I didn't sleep well or that I was trying to answer a call from my friend when I walked right into that potted plant. When they'd ask why I'm throwing those close to me under the bus, I'd take out a full-page editorial exclaiming that somehow this has turned into wins for Tim Burke, so even though I understood the world differently, this is the way the rules of the universe work now! By the end, I'll just be running around town doing exactly the opposite of what logic tells me to do, knowing that boneheaded decisions inexplicably lead to success. When confronted by the police for my clearly out-of-control behaviour -- including vandalism, public indecency, and theft -- I'll come up with reasons left and right why all that stuff was stolen or why my pants were off. None of those reasons will include me admitting in any way that I've failed as a functioning member of society. It couldn't possibly be my fault! And besides, I'll say, this kind of oblivious, no-responsibility, chaotic attitude is a winning one! I'll spend the rest of my days attempting to convince psychiatrists that I'm not crazy -- I'm just a Bomber fan.

If he's still there, I'm out. Plain and simple. I'll still follow the team, I'll still watch CFL football, and I'll keep my Bomber plates on my car -- but I'm not giving them 1 cent of my money. I missed so many games this year, which any other season I've had season tickets has been painful and heartbreaking, but this year meant nothing. I missed 3 games "just because". Didn't feel like the hassle to get to the other side of town was worth it. Another season with Burke, and the $300+ per year just wouldn't return any value for me.