Brandon Blue&Gold

As for the Jets draft options, there are some good players beyond the top 5. I would love to land a good D prospect like Foote or Valimaki. Or the Jets may grab a forward instead like Glass or Klostin. Depends where we end up. Lots of options and some good players to pick from. We need a Dman but would a big skilled centreman like Rasmussen be the way to go? Could be the replacement for Lowry or even Little down the road.

Last year I figured Patrick was a definite #1 pick. After this season I'm not so sure. He's still top 5 for sure but he's had a subpar season in Brandon this year. Injuries certainly limited him and the recovery time was extensive, but even when he was in the lineup he didn't really ever seem to elevate his game or those around him like a top pick should. He couldn't even stay healthly to get into the playoffs (which ended in a sweep on the Wheaties last night ) . That instance could be blamed on his coach playing him in the next to final game where it would have made no difference having him in the lineup, getting injured and coming back in when he really shouldn't have. It seems like with the injuries, all the draft attention and the pressure to be "the man" on his team may have gotten to Patrick, at least on some level. Hopefully he'll figure things out in the offseason especially after the draft is done with. I'd say it would be an almost certainty he'll be returned to junior no matter who drafts him. He isn't generational like a McDavid or Matthews or Laine are, and that's ok since so few are. And then if he can stay healthy he can tear it up in the WHL next season, much like Sam Steel down the road in Regina did this season after getting drafted in 2016. Whoever drafts him, there's no need to rush him.

I wouldn't have given a standing ovation either. I was incensed (but not surprised) the team gave up a 4 goal lead, but with that AHL level D we had along with bad Helle showing up it was almost inevitable. I'm glad we pulled ahead in the 3rd but those final 3 minutes were ridiculous. Yes I'm proud of the effort the players put in but we had no business holding that lead to the very end. From Buff's baffling and very bad penalty to our utter inability to even TOUCH the puck during that final penalty kill, by all rights Minny should have tied it up easily. We got lucky and I'm not too proud to take it. But as TUP pointed out our D shouldn't have been allowed to get to the point of playing the guys we had to in the first place. Moves could have been made all season but weren't. And it's too late now. Same with the coaching. I really hope once the expansion draft is done Chevy will address our weaknesses. No excuses anymore especially when teams like Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto have surpassed us in the standings even though they were in worse shape than we were over the past couple of years (yeah yeah McDavid and Matthews skew things but one player does not a team make). The coaches, GM and the owner also hear the boos. And they bear as much if not more of it than the players. My ire is pointed at Maurice, Chevy and Chipman. They've had enough time to build a good team. Our forward depth is fine. Now fix the D and goaltending depth. And the assistant coaches while you're at it.

Very interesting. Very creepy and gross but technically it isn't real so not a crime (not yet anyways). As the article states it could actually be a benefit for potential pedofiles. Get the doll and stay away from the kids. Assuming it doesn't feed the urges even more and leads to someone going out and finding the real thing. You can buy those inflatable sheep as a joke but I'll wager they've been "used" in more than a few instances and no one is claiming it's bestiality. I know it's a silly example but kinda relevant, technically. And also gross.

"When you look at what's going on in Europe right now, with all of the sexual attacks at swimming pools" That's your quote from an earlier post. "all the sexual attacks" sounds epidemic to me.

http://www.dubnetwork.ca/interviews/chl-lawsuit-parents-perspective/

My favourite Trek series. Hope this gets done.

And that is a bigger problem for the Europeans than the Syrian refugees I'd say, radicalization in existing Muslim enclaves such as in Brussels and Paris. It's in these places where ISIS does well in their recruitments and have been the source for a number of recent terrorist attacks. I'd say Europe has more of an integration issue than a refugee issue. In the U.S and Canada we seem to do a much better job of welcoming immigrants and refugees (until recently) and they in turn integrate pretty well, for the most part. No so in Europe where they maintain the old divisions and hatreds.

Thanks for the links. Two of them reference the same story and The Express is about as unbiased as Fox News/MSNBC. I'm not sure they prove there is an epidemic of Syrian refugee crimes. I grant that it certainly occurs but are incidents made bigger because they are by refugees? Would the BBC even care if the pool assault guy was named Fritz and not Amir? Would it be any different if they were, for instance, Ukrainian refugees fleeing a Russian invasion? Not so long ago (even to this day apparently) gypsies were the scum and scourge of Europe, guilty of every crime and shunned wherever they went. I don't really think it matters that they're Syrian or Muslim or whatever. You put a group of dispossessed people into a place where they're not really wanted and can't really settle down. Incidents will sadly happen. But is it an epidemic or no worse that typical crime rates over there?

What's going on in Europe right now? Can you link to some stories? Here's a few I found... https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/04/refugees-crime-rumors/480171/ http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-germany-crime-idUSKCN0YT28V https://www.thelocal.de/20160610/why-refugee-crime-numbers-have-plummeted I tried to stick with neutral sites (no Breitbart or Huffington Post). Seems there are issues but not surprising considering the amount of refugees they have in Europe. And not overly terrible perhaps even overblown going by a few of the stories I read.

http://www.tsn.ca/new-court-filings-take-aim-at-chl-clubs-financials-1.667220

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Hockey_League

This article gives a decent glimpse into some of the WHL financials... http://www.canadianbusiness.com/companies-and-industries/junior-hockey-class-action-chl-ohl-whl/ There are a few teams in the CHL that are worth good money and make good money. But the majority are either barely hanging on or just getting by. Few if any of the teams own their buildings so they're not making money off of that, usually they're on a multiyear lease that raises in price every few years. Basically ticket sales, merch and local advertising funds a CHL team. And there's no big tv contract to divide between the teams, you're lucky if Sportsnet shows one game a week. I'm not sure I buy the idea that these poor kids are exploited for big money. It's their choice to play, they don't have to. It's a high level of hockey that has major exposure to the pro leagues scouts. You get a free year of University per year played so for those not going on to the pros have an education option. They could certainly increase the stipend and improve the education option to make it more attractive for the kids and their parents. Many already choose the NCAA route in part for the free ride at a good U.S school. To the point that Kyle O'Connor made in that original article the medical care could and should be improved as well. But full on hourly rate? Back to my previous question, what would the difference in $$$ be from the current system to a new MW system? If the answer is minimal then sure fine go ahead. If not then MW could be the end for a number of CHL teams. That would be a damn shame.

Drafted by a CHL team you mean? As long as they don't sign with the CHL team that drafts them they can do whatever or go wherever they want.

They can also play in the USHL.

I'd be curious to know the difference in $$$ between the current system (stipend and free university based on how long you play in the CHL) vs everyone getting paid the minimum wage. A lot of CHL teams barely scrape by right now. Would MW make it worse or better (I assume with MW the free University would get dropped along with the stipend). And if you do go with MW is it the same for all players or would teams be allowed to pay more to certain players as they see fit. That would probably kill off more than a few teams if the latter option came to pass.

I gotta ask to those arguing that the current NFL OT rules are B.S.... Would you feel the same if ATL had won the coin toss and driven the field for the game winning TD? If yes, then carry on. If not, well, . I'm not the biggest fan of their OT format but at least they changed it a couple of years ago to give both teams a shot if the first team only scored a FG. Before that change NFL OT was ridiculous, sudden death on a FG? Lame. ATL had a shot. If their D did what they're paid to do they could have stopped the Pats and given the ball back to Ryan. Wouldn't have even needed a TD, a FG would have ended it. But the Pats used TOP in the 2nd half to slowly grind the Falcons D down to nothing when they were needed the most. And the less said about the Falcons drive late in the 4th that handed the ball back to Brady the better. Pats won ATL lost. Great game.

So Bryan Bennett will become the CFL's Tom Brady? GENIUS! Plan the parade.

What's the status on Gurley? Is he a UFA? Do we try and resign him if so? I would love to keep him but it's looking pretty crowded for INT Receivers.

Maybe we can't truly judge Trump until he officially takes power Jan 20 and puts his words to action. For now we can only go on his words, appointments to his cabinet and his (ugh) tweets. So far all of it looks pretty bad. The blatant conflict of interests in his appointments, the childish tweets that now have very real consequences to his targets (that union guy to Boeing's stock falling being just a couple of examples), his refusal to give up control of his businesses when he takes office, and the backpedaling even outright repudiation of many of his campaign promises, just to name a few. Oh yeah, that whole thing where the Russians messed with the election to Trump's advantage. Obama is initiating an investigation. Trump's response is to whine at the CIA on twitter, when he's not bitching about SNL of course. All this worries me. Because this guy will be running our biggest trading partner and neighbour. What he does will affect us. And going by his track record so far I'm doubtful it will go well for us. We shall see I suppose.

Keep No Yards but eliminate it after the first (or maybe second) bounce on a punt. Tired of the returner letting it bounce in an attempt to draw the penalty. Still call the penalty if someone other than the punter on the Kicking team touches it before the returner does.

Which fanbases are you referring to? Lots out there. I'll assume you mean the Riders? As much as we like to rag on them I will bet that % wise they have as many if not more diehards than we do. And we have as many fair weathers as them. Or something like the Yankees? I see a lot of Yankees hats out there but I would bet not all of them are diehards, just like wearing the brand. But there are a lot of diehards too. Do you have a fanbase in mind that are mainly fairweather? The Argos perhaps?

A spokesman for the cops disputes the report from the witness that he stood over McKnight and shot him. He seems to imply that Gasser shot from his driver seat through his open passenger window at McKnight while he was in his own vehicle. That's a big difference from eyewitnesses. And doesn't really look any better to be honest. But the investigation is ongoing.

And then he wrote another paragraph that was specific to the Rider fanbase. Just pointing out in the end all fan bases are basically the same. To be fair ?.

Would Eric Gelinas be an upgrade for our 3rd D pairing? I've supported Postma for a while but he's not grabbing the spot, Chiarot shows flashes and the less Stuart is seen the better. Gelinas stats over the years are decent. I know it won't happen but is Gelinas an option to bring in?