TrueBlue4ever

Never question Bob Irving!

Bob Irving will be happy. Naylor, Lalji, and the Argo owners maybe not so much. Saw one tweet wondering if the passing of the single game betting bill allowed the CFL to walk away from this, knowing they had a new revenue stream coming in? Maybe that was Ambrosie’s plan all along - float a trial balloon to gauge the current level of support for the traditional CFL and put some heat on the Feds to pass the bill. Maybe Ambrosie goes down as the commish who saved the CFL. Genius!

I suspect it has something to do with the 2000 Bombers finishing 8-10 and 3rd in the East, and Saskatchewan finishing 13-5 and 1st in the West in 2019. Same reason they are falling all over Hamilton after a 15-3 season.

Giving your soul might be getting off easy. Check out these guys.

I know stupidity is everywhere, but this death is so America.

It’s not just that a promise was walked back though. That promise crashed a legal dynamic where Cosby was forced to answer civilly for a claim without Fifth Amendment protection , which he would have had if criminal charges existed. Then they used the evidence from that hearing as a basis for laying criminal charges and as evidence against him criminally later. Kind of an entrapment scenario - he is forced to do something under threat of jail if he does not comply, then what he does is held against him as a way to get him into jail. The facts are abhorrent and I make no excuses for the man, but everyone is entitled to due process and he was not really given that, as I understand it.

Open question for the forum, and please let’s keep hostility to a minimum if we can, recognizing that this is a charged issue. Should we “cancel” Canada Day celebrations and spend the day in mourning/reflection/penance for the indigenous children lost to the residential school system? I honestly am not sure how I feel about it, and am looking for thoughtful opinions. Of course we must make amends for the sins of the past, but is this the way? Am I now obligated to wallow in shame for living in a country I have always been proud to call my home, and not celebrate my nation anymore for what it has given me because of what it has taken from others? Should I wear that guilt? Is it about guilt? And does a boycott do anything productive, or is it hollow? As a Caucasian, I would love feedback to help educate myself on this issue.

Before people react to Cosby without reading the story, legally it makes sense. In 2005 prosecutors could have charged him criminally, but questioned whether they had a reasonable likelihood of conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. They determined that they did not, so they chose not to charge him. This was a tactic to expose him in a civil suit. If he was charged criminally he could plead the fifth (refuse to testify) in the civil case on the grounds that it could incriminate him criminally. Without the threat of criminal prosecution, he could not exercise his right to plead the fifth as he did not face that legal jeopardy, and refusing to testify in the civil case in that instance would be considered contempt of court and he could be jailed for keeping silent. So he was forced to the stand for a deposition with a lower burden of proof and give evidence against himself. It was that deposition’s evidence that was unsealed in 2014 and then used to justify the criminal charges being laid. Two trials and one hung jury later, Cosby was convicted. So the court is saying you can’t force someone to testify against their right to silence by avoiding criminal charges, and then use that testimony to engage in criminal charges. Procedural gobbledegook, but actually protects people from forced self-incrimination criminally.

Fortunately we have two in Augustine and Oliviera.

And also:

Is that what they call “head cheese?”

If that’s the case then eventually cases will get to zero once all the unvaccinated die off.

In a shameless attempt to boost my status from “Newbie” to “Rookie” and earn more badges (bit of a slow starter apparently having been here for 8 years), and also as a follow up to the “what I learned today” thread, thought I would float out this random topic so we can all see what things we have never achieved that seemingly everyone else in the world would have done. So I will begin: Huge movie buff, but I have never seen Gone With the Wind, Citizen Kane, or Sound of Music to name but 3. Huge TV fan but have never seen Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Mad Men, Everybody Loves Raymond, or Arrested Development. Love to travel, and even went to communist Russia, but I have never ever set foot in Quebec. And finally, have lived in Manitoba all my life, but I have never caught a fish.

Hmm. Doubly vaccinated, and the last live game I saw was at Mosaic for the West Final. Maybe a return trip is in order.

Cross checking is legal. So is spearing (sorry, “high sticking” to the testicles). Only body checking is a grievous crime. Honestly, I figured Scheifele deserved something for the charge and figured a game of two because of the optics of the stretcher and unconsciousness. Now that I have seen what other flagrant fouls have been given (or rather not given) as punishment, and hearing Evans was walking around the dressing room after and never even went to hospital, Scheifele got totally screwed by the league. If I was coaching, I’d tell my players to do soccer-like dives and force the medical staff to haul them all off on stretchers. Seems the only determining factor for discipline is result, not intent, so faking injury is the only way to get another player suspended if you aren’t actually hurt. I wonder if the refs are consciously calling games this way in response to Tim Peel being kicked out of the league for his hot mic “managing the game” comments, as a form of protest?

Here are the judge’s reasons for the sentence, and he was clear this won’t set a precedent for others who were more involved. The accused was in the Capitol for only 10 minutes, did no damage, and ultimately renounced and condemned the violence, while fully cooperating with prosecutors. Also educated herself and says she has reframed her views. Hopefully it was not just empty words from someone sorry she got caught and not for what she did. https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/23/politics/capitol-rioter-sentenced/index.html

This is more entertaining than the fight going on here.

Going out on a limb to say Medlock will be in that “more to come” list. In the “came out of nowhere but yeah I guess it makes sense” group, I would put: Pat Neufeld (aging, body beat up a lot, younger competition) Jake Thomas (stuck it out a long time to get that Cup, not playing full time in games, may want to go out on top), Stanley Bryant (35, oldest on the team, punishing position, but his new contract makes this more surprising if it happens) Nick Taylor (at 33, oldest DB in a position that sees a lot of turnover and losing a step is a big hindrance) And maybe a big surprise, but Andrew Harris (34, bruising position, more than any other player, going out on top would be very meaningful given the turmoil of the year, the fallout with opposing players and the media who called him out, getting revenge with the MOP and Canadian awards in the game, and capping his career with returning the championship to his hometown, like Bryant, the new contract signing would suggest he is fully prepared to come back, so this falls on the more shocking end of the spectrum) All purely speculative with no evidence one way or another. Players do like their last memory to be a positive one for sure, and curious to see if some players get back to camp and the grind of it really hits home after a season off if they were wavering. We shall see.

Do you know if the Government gets a cut? I mean, they did need to approve it in a bill. Would seem to be a good tax revenue stream for them.

I did not realize the league needed to give permission to allow betting on it.

Passed today. I honestly don’t know how this translates into big money for the CFL, but others seem to think it is a big deal. Can someone explain to this rube?

I think the deciding factors are that DeMelo has a locked in contract for 3 years more, and is a right handed shot. The management here likes contract security, and we have seen how this defence has struggled almost to a man when they are asked to play off their off side. We have Pionk, DeMelo, and Poolman on the right side now and that’s basically it (Nelson Nogier is the only other righty on the roster) and Morrissey, Heinola, Samberg, and Niku on the left with Stanley (along with Forbert, Benn, and Beaulieu if we wanted to re-sign any of them). Is Stanley better than Heinola or Samberg, and is Nogier better than DeMelo? Barring a trade for a strong right d-man (who then need to protect anyway), both those questions need to be a yes for us to expose DeMelo over Stanley unless we can guarantee neither gets plucked.

As for the kicker situation, I am surprised we don’t have another one coming to camp, but even if Liegghio is being awarded the job without challenge, history will strongly suggest that it really doesn’t mean much. Traditionally kickers (especially in the NFL) are given a super short rope, and every game is an audition. Failure in game 7 is as likely to get one cut as a poor training camp. And clubs seem able to bring in a new guy on zero notice and give him the job. So I am not going to sweat the lack of competition at training camp - it seems to be perpetually there for kickers year round until they have enough career success to earn a reprieve for one bad game. As for the DB situation, that spot seems to have a bunch of turnover as the season goes on pretty much every year. Our starting 5 in game 1 in 2019 was Rose, Sayles, Alexander, Chandler Fenner, and Jeff Hecht. We finished with the first 3 and added Matson, Nick Taylor, and Mike Jones by Grey Cup Sunday. It is a position that gets flipped a lot, and players are plentiful (it may be the easiest position to fill on a team), so again question marks going into training camp aren’t as big a deal to me, and even if we appeared “set” it wouldn’t mean there was no concern or changes coming by mid-season.