Brandon Blue&Gold

Up until the article I saw (can't seem to track it down at the moment) I heard exactly what you had too. Hence my surprise when I read it since it really makes no sense. I just hope TN continues to try to bring the WHL back to Winnipeg. It's unlikely the Pats or Blades will relocate since they both have new owners. The front runners at this time appear to be Kootenay and Lethbridge (although Lethbridge may finally be turning a corner).

I saw in an article about this story that True North stated that a WHL franchise coming to Winnipeg didn't test well in polls they did back in 2012. That really surprised me since nearly every hockey fan friend I have in Winnipeg would love to have a WHL team back in Winnipeg. Wouldn't it make more sense if Thunder Bay falls through to put our AHL team in a place like Regina or Saskatoon and get a WHL team in Winnipeg? Regina or Saskatoon could support an AHL franchise quite easily (make their unis green lol) and I gotta think a WHL team would be more affordable than even an AHL team. I say this assuming that having the Moose back in Winnipeg wouldn't be permanent. I just can't see Winnipeg supporting both the Jets and the Moose longterm. But I've been wrong before. Quick poll then..... WHL team or AHL team (Jets affiliate) for the longterm. I'm curious what you all think.

What are some examples? I'm looking to be entertained.at the super bowl. Walking through Circus Circus in Vegas in 2008, the Scotties in MJ a couple weeks ago during the finals wknd (when Sask wasn't even playing lol), Wheat Kings games and WHL Sask teams home games (this annoys me since the Sask WHL teams sell their own team merch and could certainly use some of that Ridernation $$$, it merely baffles me at Wheaties games), etc. Not entertaining but just a couple examples off the top of my head.

Matt Calvert out indefinitely with a concussion. Could be day to day, could be longer. I know he was a possible trade target (at least before we got Tlusty) but probably not anymore. Damn shame, was hoping we would snag him.

I think Calvert would be a great addition to the 3rd/4th line. And it's always nice when the local kid can come home. Or at least a 2 hr drive from home lol. Why does Columbus want to trade him?

Judging by what I see at Bomber games, a significant percentage of those 20,951 STH are buying Royal Blue merch. Heck there are at least 3 Royal Blue #63 Walby jerseys in my own section, let alone the stadium.

If you're counting, I'm another vote for Royal Blue full time.

I've been having the same thought. Unless an NFL offer comes in I could see this happening. The Riders have lost two starters on their oline and I'm sure they would like to replace them with quality players, and I'm unsure how good their backups are. Maybe they would be in on Bryant or Harrison from Calgary as well? I know those two are Americans but Heenan leaves a big hole at tackle for the Riders. Gotta figure the Riders have some money freed up now with both Heenan and Picard gone. And of course Jones is a Sask boy and we all know it's every Sask boy's dream to go home and play for the Riders at some point in their career . From Calgary's POV Jones is a fantastic player and tough to lose but they have Lavertu ready to step up if Jones moves on. Calgary always seems to handle losing top end players just fine. I would be surprised if Taman wasn't active in free agency. He rarely if ever sits it out.

Any idea if his tools (whatever they may be) would work in the CFL? I think, like Tebow, his ego wouldn't allow him to even look up north if his NFL options died. But his skillset would probably be ideal for the CFL. Decent arm strength (for CFL), great mobility and ability to improvise. Sorta like Robert Marve .

I'll reserve judgement until I see it myself. To be fair from his POV he has had to take a lot of flak and @#$%talk these past two weeks regarding "Deflategate" from nearly everyone not residing in the greater Boston area. To each his own. Got a chance to see what you were talking about. From what I saw the NBC reporter brought up deflategate first and essentially baited him into responding. Kraft's answer was fine to me, didn't get carried away and kept it short and sweet. His podium comments did reference 9/11 which I would say were a bit over the top (but not much different from the Seahawks a couple of weeks ago comparing their playoff win to the struggle Martin Luther King went through). Other than that I thought Kraft did alright. If he was rubbing it in it was maybe in that glance he shared with Goodell for about a second or two when he received the Lombardi trophy. And that doesn't bother me in the slightest. I admit I probably have my Pats coloured glasses on when it comes to Kraft. But in all fairness you may have your own shades on, since I did see it mentioned on another thread you are a Seahawks fan.

Love the Bombers above all other teams, (even the Jets) and while I don't really root for the other CFL teams I still watch them and pay attention to what they do since I love the CFL as a league in general. For me CFL>NFL. But I love the Patriots only slightly less than the Bombers so I pay considerable attention and enjoy the NFL as well. Basically between June and early February each year I am entertained every weekend. Between Feb and June I have to depend on hockey to fill the void, which isn't bad either.

I'll reserve judgement until I see it myself. To be fair from his POV he has had to take a lot of flak and @#$%talk these past two weeks regarding "Deflategate" from nearly everyone not residing in the greater Boston area.

what did he say? I missed it too. What did Kraft say? You got a link 55?

Had to work tonight but damn glad to hear and see my Pats won (pvred the game at least). Nothing but respect for the Seahawks, they were daunting opponents. Kudos to Chris Matthews on a good game too, really nice to see albeit in a losing cause. I know the Seahawks are taking flak for passing and not handing off to Lynch on that final Seahawk drive, and rightly so, but it was a hell of a play by Butler. Half a second too soon and it's PI, half a second too late it's caught for a TD. Nicely done by the rookie Butler. Now I can finally put the previous two Pats SB appearances behind me.

Realistically you probably have to start thinking of next season. What looks good for your Blades next season? Better forwards and D? Goaltending? I admit my knowledge of the Blades is limited. I know you guys made some good moves for the future at the trade deadline.

6 in a row here in Brandon. Yeah, you guys are doing us a huge solid beating our division rivals ! Hopefully Brandon can beat Swift Current tonight as they are the team we need to catch for playoffs if it is still in the picture. Our bad. Sorry about that. Damn Bow!

6 in a row here in Brandon.

Gabrielle will be fine player for your Pats. I hate the fact we have to play him many many times over the next two or three seasons, even though I see the logic in the trade (and not really having a choice anyways). And Steel is very impressive, tough guy to defend and will only get better. I admire the direction Paddock is taking with the Pats, but it is a bit of a gamble. A lot can happen in two years. Saskatoon and Prince Albert are in rebuild mode as well with some good pieces, and the Wheat Kings could still be a handful in 2016/17 with the likes of Patrick, Clague, and Mattheos to deal with. But it definitely is a change in philosophy, unlike past years when guys like Eberle and Weal were hung on to when they should have been traded for the future. Again I like Paddock's direction better, even if it means pain for my team down the road lol.

It would be but I have a hard time believing it will happen. You need good responsible defensive play to go far in the playoffs and Brandon always seems to be weak in that department. I think the Wheat Kings could get to the finals, but I wouldn't be surprised if they got taken out at or before the conference finals. As for Kelowna they are the favourites, but after seeing Everett up close it could be a tough battle out west too. Should be an interesting playoffs in a few months.

So the trade deadline is tomorrow and there has been a lot of action. How do you feel about your teams' moves Jpans and Duressler? Both the Blades and the Pats made a lot of moves for the future, especially the Pats who were looking very good this season (handled my Wheat Kings the last couple times they played). The Wheat Kings sacrificed a good young player to get a half season of Morgan Klimchuk, who is very very good. I'll miss Gabrielle but it sounds like a change of scenery was needed for both sides if the rumours here in Brandon are to be believed. And picking up Gow for cheap was a good move for our Defense, but I admit I thought they would have aimed a little higher and a bit tougher for a Dman (not to put down Gow who is skilled and smart in both ends of the ice). Maybe I just bought too much into all the online rumours lol. As it is the Wheat Kings got two solid players and didn't sacrifice next year to do it. But Medicine Hat and Red Deer look scarier now than they were before. As for the west the rich get richer as Kelowna's roster looks unstoppable now. But you never know come playoff time.

Any chance they would put a USHL team in your area? No college level hockey? If they can get a college team in Arizona maybe Nashville isn't far behind .

Thanks for the heads up. Watching the Bdn/MJ right now since I can't be there in person.

Gotta say when I first heard this whole story go down I was pointing my finger (you can guess which finger lol) directly at Sony for caving in. But the more I read about it it seems like everyone else (theatre chains, malls, VOD/Netflix, etc) bailed and left Sony holding the proverbial bag. Not that I think Sony Pictures is blameless of course but seems like a lot of people/companies turned tail and ran once the lawyers got in everyone's ears. And since it is the States it is a valid concern. Even on the off chance (and I suspect it's a very very low chance) these hackers actually attacked a theatre showing the movie the resulting lawsuits would be insane, since, again, it is the States. I think it's ridiculous but sadly something Sony has to worry about. I hope Sony figures out how to release it. I wanted to see it before all this and really want to see it now, just to do my part in sticking it to North Korea . Be nice if, as suggested above, the Americans let loose their cyber warriors and give it back tenfold to Kim Jong Un. If you'll excuse me, I fell the overwhelming urge to watch Team America World Police.

Saw the OTR vid. Just my opinion but it showcases Landsberg at his douchiest. Right from the start with that idiotic "potential opponents" video. If Punk was a frequent guest of the show and had a good relationship with Landsberg like some guests do, then the video might work as a funny lead in. But, to my knowledge, Punk has never been a guest and certainly seems like he had never heard of OTR until now. He's trying to start a new career where he is getting flak daily for being a joke and a "faker" that is going to get his ass kicked when he steps into the octagon for the first time. I'm sure being offered Justin Beiber and Chef Boyardee as future opponents really helped with that. And the WWE centric questions, aside from the injury ones, were weak at best. But that is Landsberg's schitck and if you don't know about it, it may come off as insulting. I thought Punk handled himself well considering the amount of condescending questions he had to field. The only thing I would fault Punk for is if you're doing all these interviews to hype your UFC career, you gotta expect a lot of WWE questions will get tossed at you. And you will get fools like Landsberg that are looking to promote themselves more than the guy they're interviewing. I loved the final part where Punk calls Landsberg out. Punk stayed cool, even seemed amused, while Landsberg got all huffy over it (getting pissy about drinking coffee, really!?!?). I can tolerate Landsberg if he's doing the group discussions or even just two other people. But his one on ones are usually pretty bad. Seems to have no skill in handling the more "difficult" interviews (like Punk). I would wager he doesn't do much background on his subjects. Just my theory.

Big trade yesterday. The Rockets get even better by adding Morrissey to their backend and didn't have to give up too much for him. They were already the favourites to win the WHL, this may make them favourites for the Memorial Cup. I wonder if there will be other big trades coming in response to Kelowna's move. Doubtful Reinhart moves now that Kootenay are back in the playoff hunt. Keep hearing rumblings that the Oil Kings may unload some guys if they continue to falter, but with Jarry as your goalie I'd say they will always have a chance so maybe one of their overage Dmen at best. As for my neck of woods I don't think the Wheat Kings will make any moves since we made a big one earlier in the season. Although with the way he is playing lately our Dman Roy should be on the block. Unlikely but you can't be a Wheaties fan without hating on at least one of your older Dmen. It's tradition here in Westman! Be nice if the Wheat Kings could trade for some size up front. We've been getting pushed around lately and Regina is breathing down our necks now. Maybe our hot start was like the Bombers this summer. If so this is going to hurt come March.