Captain Blue

Random thoughts: There's just something about O'Shea that'll make players want to run through a wall for the guy. Listening to him I think he could get me to, as well. Season enders in TC (and really, ever) is the absolute worst. Feel bad for Lucas. Managing the ratio is going to be a helluva challenge this year.

Did anyone get lost 2-3 sentences into this? It was like trying to read a tolkien novel for the first time.. Well a lot of effort had to go into the nicknames. I mean, turning "Jim" to "Jimbozo"? Brilliant!

So I showed up for the second camp today and it was exclusively special teams. Wonder there will be a heavy emphasis on that as camp continues too. My guess is yes. The kicking battle is fun to watch. These guys have huge legs. Liram was just booming them today. I wish I had kept track of their attempts and makes but it was hard. I kept getting him and Maher confused since they are numbers 78 and 79. I am hoping Liram sticks somehow on this roster. I didn't see much punting but over the years I've found Renaud always looks like the best punter in camp and then sucks during the season.

So to flip this around a bit... O'Shea is being (wrongfully, in my opinion) blamed for this move but why shouldn't we look at it like the media is at fault for their own mess? He's always honest and open with them and yet it took all of three days for them to turn on him. So maybe the fault should lie with the likes of Friesen and crew, who had the opportunity to start a new relationship with the coach and squandered it already? Maybe, just maybe, they should see that there are consequences to their actions?

I"ll be there a little later in practice.

Why is it that you ALWAYS side with the media? If a coach does something the media doesn't like, he's picking a fight? Why couldn't it just once be that the media is behaving inappropriately? I didn't like it when Kelly tried to control the media. I could see what was coming back then and we all know how that turned out. I don't like it now any more now and I expect the same results. That's called being consistent, not being on the side of the media. O'Shea wasn't in Winnipeg when Kelly made the mistake, but someone who was around then should tell him how it will probably work out. Here's a hint: If you want to control the message, then make sure everyone's on the same page, help the media spread your message and everyone wins. Don't say "I'm going to control the message and everything comes through me". That's not going to help the situation. In fact it's going to hurt it. BTW: It's not inappropriate for the media to want to talk to more than one person on the team. It's done almost everywhere there is a pro team. Or, and I'm just spitballing here, Kelly failed because his actual football schemes were downright awful... and whether or not a coordinator could answer questions from such luminaries as Gary Lawless and Paul Friesen is actually irrelevant to the success of the football team? The only thing I actually liked about Kelly was that he realized Winnipeg's media was comprised mostly of buffoons. He didn't exactly do it the right way, and that's where O'Shea seems to be different. BTW: It's not inappropriate for the team to reduce media availability. It's done almost everywhere there is a pro team. They have mandated CFL media obligations to fulfill - that's it.

I generally dislike most of the TSN and really most of the mainstream media talking heads, but I will miss Randorf. The options to replace him are not likely to be upgrades. I would love to see Lalji there, but really the problem is that he'll just be the set-up man while Schultz tells me "YOU WIN BY SCORING, Farhan, to WIN, you NEED TO SCORE MORE THAN THE OTHER TEAM." *intense stare into camera* I would rather see TSN move to a crew that really can do football and the CFL justice. A full crew that understands the game and can actually analyze things. Maybe this will be a turning point for them.

Paul Friesen is a schmuck. I didn't realize this was a Friesen article at the start but once the ****-throwing really started I knew it was his schtick all over again. Don't care what this idiot has to say. He doesn't watch practice, he doesn't even comprehend the CFL (or really, any league) well and he certainly has no idea how to write articles. What really ticks me off though is that people actually side with this buffoon and now we'll certainly be hearing about this crap all season.

I'd be more concerned if O'Shea wasn't aware of this from the start. I wouldn't want Wylie to start bailing. That they both agreed to this is fine with me. They can plan for it. Now it makes sense why we have him as a "not-OL-coach" and an OL coach.

Countdown before a bunch of people with too much time on their hands complain?

So are we sticking in here or the chat?

Is it just me or is Ottawa stupid?

Wow, things are getting interesting. Who does Calgary want?

Goossen it is then.

I want a starter out of our first pick badly. Trading down definitely intrigues me though.

I HATE HATE HATE HATE Kuale. More so as a dirty player than as what he does at linebacker, but this is underwhelming. I'd rather roll with the guys we have.

Never was on-board with expecting much out of McRath

Without a hockey contract, you would have to think this will lead to even more ESPN-ization of TSN. More panels, more "The Quiz", more radio shock jocks being simulcast on TV.... I would assume they'll make us pay more too, but we shall see.

I wonder how TSNGO and the newly unveiled TSN1-5 channels will impact coverage/accessibility of hockey and football. You would naturally think it would make it easier, but I'm not so sure.

Its complete and utter BS from Bell in another attempt to control more media. We pay for TSN and TSN2 through MTS, but we don't have access since MTS (and most other cable companies) are not willing to shell out cash to Bell just so consumers can stream media online when they won't get any return on that. This is particularly a pain in the butt when they broadcasted on TSN that to watch a playoff hockey game we should go to TSN.ca while we waited for a college playoff game to be over. Holy geeze I hate the media corporations in this country. I would however cut cable and pay for TSN if they decided to offer their online stream in a package. Also, not all the videos are locked for me. I get a lot of the highlight videos still, it seems its mostly just live streaming that is locked so far.

I think the real burning question here is whether or not Casey Printers will be signed by the Bombers.

This is a non-story in my opinion. Generally the people that don't re-new are those likely more influenced by things like a terrible season, or alternatively, were more likely to buy season tickets for the first year of a stadium.

I think its pretty clear that its Dr Jaffery13. Not sure how much more clear it could be. We're clearly in talks for a doctor.

I don't hate the comments, honestly. Confidence? Good. Desire to be multiple? Crucial. Definitely concerned what he means by no playbook, but I don't buy that anyways. Maybe its not physically copied out page by page. More concerned by how he intends to implement the scheme.

Two things I don't like: This town's media. And the "WE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!!!!!!!!" group. Contrary to popular belief, buying a ticket or being a taxpayer does not mean you are a key decision maker on Blue Bomber events. They are required to give us some information, but that is it. If Miller keeps this up, I will be very impressed. It's about time someone let the media know they either need to write fairly or learn to deal with the consequences.