TrueBlue4ever

How Crapigna ever played another game in the CFL after that performance, I will never know.

Meanwhile, wonder if the NHL would plan anything. One thought I had rather than a boycott: Teams square off at centre ice. Off the opening faceoff, the teams skate away from the puck drop and all go to their respective blue lines and all take a knee. Let the clock run for 8:46 (the length of time the police were kneeling on George Floyd’s neck) with the players on the ice kneeling. Then one player retrieved the puck and is allowed to skate in alone on the opposing netminder and take 7 shots, symbolic of the 7 shots to Jacob Blake. Simple shots intended not to score, just be a symbol. Even more powerful if the netminder turned around and the shooter put the puck softly but squarely into his back 7 times. With each shot the players on the bench bang their sticks once against the boards in unison, that is an attention grabbing noise. After the 7th shot, the shooter takes the puck back to centre ice and flips it over the glass so the next faceoff is at centre ice so no advantage for either team. Can symbolize the equality we are all striving for in a fair and just world. Can finish off with stick tapping on the ice for all as a sign of solidarity if they want. Thoughts? Any other ideas?

Curious to see what the long term impact of the boycott will be. I posted that I did not think it would make much difference after 5 minutes of media splash, but maybe my knee jerk reaction will be wrong. Maybe advertisers who bow at the altar of the almighty dollar will panic if the medium through which they hawk their products disappears. Maybe the networks will panic with nothing to cover. Maybe. We shall see.

For about 5 minutes. Then everyone with a zero attention span (which Sean Hannity recently said is “everyone”) would move on, and the players would have no platform to continue. And Trump and his ilk would be happy because out of sight, out of mind. Kaepernick did it right. That’s why his protest is still talked about.

I was going to say shoving stuff under his bed and calling it clean gives him too much credit. It would mean he did something, even if that something was unproductive. Trump is the kid who closes the door to his room and says it is clean thinking that no one can/will open the door to check.

And while police are “appreciating” these armed civilians acting like a wannabe militia, you can hear other police in the background warning protesters “you are civilians in a closed area, you must leave. Yes, you! This is your last warning. Disperse now!” Apparently the curfew rules did not apply if you were armed with an AR-15 - and were white. Reminds me of the line in Animal Farm - “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”

Doc Rivers' comments after the game last night surrounding the Jason Blake shooting. Hopefully everyone will LISTEN. Not listen just to respond to it, but listen to understand. Too much of the former in the world, not enough of the latter.

Of course it is a cash grab. Not that there is anything wrong with that per se. If a league finds new ways to generate income and there is fan interest, more power to them. And the league certainly needs a cash infusion. The Bombers for example generated $11.5 million on ticket sales alone last year, 32% of their income. Their game day, concessions, and merch sales were another 24%. All those totals will essentially dry up this year. So they need the cash badly to keep the operation going (paying staff who were not laid off is just one example). But here is where I have a problem with it. The Bombers are community owned, so their books are public. They made a $3.5 million profit last year, which is in line with their 5 years average. Saskatchewan and Edmonton (the other 2 community owned teams) each lost money - the Riders $200,000 (essentially the cost of their Grey Cup bid and prep) and the "let's not call them THAT anymore" 's lost $1.1 million. We have no idea about the other 6 teams, but each club ponied up $680,000 to keep the Als running when they had no owner, so they were $5.45 million in the glue while they were rudderless. The big issue for me is those 5 or 6 privately owned teams (honestly have no idea where Montreal is at these days). All the private owners (David Braley in BC, Bob Young in Hamilton, MLSE in Toronto, Calgary Flames through Murray Edwards in Calgary, and Roger Greenberg in Ottawa) are all in the $1 billion + net worth range at least (MLSE alone is worth $4 billion). They won't open their books, but they were unable or unwilling to pony up their own money to keep the league operating this season, and now the CFL wants $400 from each fan to generate revenue. If the owners are making money off their teams (and the Bombers have shown in the last 5 years that you can generate profits off of your team) then it really sucks that they capsized the year and the league now want the fans to pay to keep it afloat after the Government handout failed. If they are not making money by and large, then it is time to scrap the current version of the league and figure out a financially viable way to run it, or bury it forever. In either circumstance, don't run to the fans first for a cash grab. Get your own house in order, then you can soak us with ticket prices, but at least we get a little entertainment for our spent money, and not just a meaningless engraving on a plaque.

The Cup is won by the players and coaches, they have worked to earn their right to have their name engraved on it. Even if it is just a "fan base", I see no reason why I should get to immortalize myself on a part of the Cup as a fan. Already have my name in the concrete paving stone in front of IGF, so they have honoured my fandom in that fashion. JMO.

Tried to pass a semi on the gravel shoulder, lost control and drove into the oncoming lane where he hit another semi head on, then spun back into his lane and was hit by the semi he just passed.

You've got yourself a keeper there for sure, anyone who can find the joy in even the most low moments will feed your soul for life.

A key to any good essay - a strong opening sentence. Great memory. I too remember "The Human Torch", and although I always rooted for a Bomber blowout win, I actually wanted one 'Rider score just so Monteith would light that Sterno can on his head. Pyrotechnics, baby. (I like to think when the Bombers won that game 56-0 he actually lit it once out of frustration and got a big cheer from the Bomber faithful for his efforts).

So here is mine. I was vaguely aware of the Bombers as we entered the 1980's (in fact, Ray Jauch once came to my house for some unknown reason and I only sort of who him as the Bomber head coach but knew enough to be in awe of a big time sports figure as a young impressionable lad of 9, even if I had no clue about the team). My school was even asked to participate in the team's 50th anniversary celebration by running out on the field to make a giant number "50" in formation. I declined to join in, possibly the first, last and only time I would snub the Big Blue. I did later make up for it, as I will relay in this memory. So on to 1981, where the memories take shape. First, I remember being at my cottage with no electricity, no TV, propane heating, and only a battery powered AM/.FM radio. We were at a friend's cabion and all the younger kids were playing a game of charades, while my dad was glued to the radio listening to Bob Irving, Ken Ploen and Cactus Jack Wells call the Bomber game. I was curious about what the supposed big deal was and he said the Bombers were beating the Alouettes, who had just stocked up on a bunch of big time NFL talent and were looking to take over the league. The biggest name of all was Vince Farragamo, fresh off his Super Bowl appearance. As the night wore on, I saw my dad getting more and more excited and pleased, and kept getting score updates (32-2 at the half, over 40 now, over 50 now). I could tell this was something monumental, so he explained what it meant to take down the big dog and for this community owned team to rout the "let's buy a championship" Nelson Skalbania run Als. The next day, the Free Press ran a picture of Vince on the turf after another sack looking up at the refs, and his face was the epitome of "the agony of defeat" in a way that the ski jumper wipeout will never quite capture,. I have looked high and low to find that pic and cannot find it on the internet, but it is burned in my brain. I also remember my dad seeing that photo and saying "Boy, if that picture doesn't say it all. THAT is what a beaten man looks like. You can literally see him wondering what he got himself into coming up here". So that radio memory is my first inkling, and was followed by my first TV memory of Dieter Brock completing 41 of 47 passes in Ottawa, and then listening to the season finale against Calgary where Eugene Goodlow caught a then-record 15 passes to become the first receiver ever to hit 100 receptions in a year. My school then decided to participate once again in the pre-game ceremony for the West semi-final, this time singing the anthem. Knowing now a good thing when I saw it, I happily jumped on board. (Side note, I got a second anthem singing gig a few years later, but in much warmer weather). And my dad thought it would be fun to not just go to sing, but watch the game, so my first Bomber live attended game ever was the 1981 West Semi-Final vs. BC. Bombers heavily favoured. These were the days before wind chill was invented, and my recall may be skewed, but in my school uniform with dress shoes and not wearing the proper snowsuit/snow boots combo the rest of the game, I am forever convinced that it was minus 18 without wind chill and probably minus 30 or worse with. And the Bombers just sucked that day. Brock could not finish a drive, Trevor Kennard missed 3 of 4 field goals or something like that, including a couple of chip shots from inside 25 yards, and they lost 15-11. I was cold, I was miserable, I was frustrated...….I was hooked. And next year my dad bought us season tickets, and we had them every year until he died in 2017, and I took them over and have them to this day, where I now take my family every chance I get. And lots of joy, heartache, but zero regret and a lifetime of great memories since then.

With the extension of an already extra long off season upon us, there appears to be a groundswell of support (OK, a Speedflex mention) for topics for the board to weigh in on to pass the time. Stuff like the MBB all-time team and Bluto's brilliant "your hate goes here" thread seemed to get things going, and I have pondered various top 10 lists for people to debate (although some involving player positions might be a repeat of the all-time team nominations, so I will resist that for the time being). But today, let's start things off appropriately at the beginning. What are people's first Blue Bomber memory, either on the radio, TV or in person (or all of the above, we have plenty of time to unpack the origins of our collective Bomber fandom)? What brought you to Bomber Nation? Please be as descriptive as possible, although this is not a test, I will be grading the essays in my mind and judging you all silently, as I am sure you will be with me.

Can't hear you. Paul LaPolice's 2 Grey Cup rings are plugging my ears.

Another interesting thought.... With the loss of the year, players will go a minimum 18 months between meaningful contact, and Father Time is undefeated. Who hangs them up due to the lost season? I raise this question tied into the list above, specifically 2 players. Bryant will be 35, Harris 34, and Chad Rempel 40 before the start of next year, even if it starts at the normal time (Justin Medlock will be 37 and a half, but a kicker's age is a different issue than other players, if you know what I mean). When the NHL went silent in 2005, lots of aging players could not compete when things started up again after the long layoff. Who do people think we have seen the last of?

I was actually contemplating that kind of thing, but thought it hit a little close to the nomination process for the all-time team, so I wondered how repetitive it might be. But stay tuned, have a few thoughts...….. ….and I know how much everyone loves my long-winded, detail heavy posts, so I aim to please.

Welcome to the internet, where I see you posting opinions too. Yes, that`s me being judgey.

Can’t wait for the playoff semi in Calgary so everyone can spend the first half in the game thread demanding to fire O’Shea, Walters and Miller, whining that LaPo’s offence won’t do anything all game, and Declaring that Richie Hall has again proven how useless a coordinator he is.

There is nothing surprising about this. It plays right into Trump’s main talking points. The smug smirking teen gets to be the epitome of the “white victim of progressive minority favouritism who was slandered unfairly by the fake news media and persecuted by the enemy of the people, the lamestream left wing media. The gun toting couple are a shining example of 2nd Amendment rights standing up to the BLM thugs out to loot and destroy America, and are a symbol of the threat to suburban life in America if the police are defunded and these black protesters are allowed to run amok. Only Trump can protect these American patriots from the Socialist menace and Keep America Great.

That would be the only game Edmonton would lose all year.

Troy Kopp

Anyone who does the math has to know that the league is not going ahead this year, and that has been the case for weeks. Let's say that the CFL magically resolved its issues today and announced tomorrow a full plan to start up, and that plan actually was set in motion tomorrow as well. Players would need to come up from the USA, so getting flights would take some time, but let's be nice and say that gets done by Friday, August 14. They all arrive in Winnipeg and are put into the mandatory 14 day quarantine, which gets us to August 28. They also need to go through multiple COVID tests during that time. As a matter of comparison, the NFL is spending $75 million on COVID testing alone as part of their new season. so let's charitably say that 1/4 of the teams means 1/4 of the cost, so $19 million for testing alone. Then assuming no foul-ups or delays because of positive tests, and physicals take place and we are into the start of training camp and two-a-days by Monday or Tuesday. So start of September. Minimum time frame for that is 2 weeks, and 2 pre-season games will be needed because with 9 teams, you can't just have one because of imbalance. So now we are likely at the start of October for the start of the season. To play a 6 game schedule will take minimum 7 weeks of actual time given the required byes, so regular season ends November 17 and Grey Cup goes December 8. So if we start tomorrow with this process, we are already into December and we are definitely NOT starting tomorrow, and we are NOT starting the moment the plan gets announced, so best case scenario I say we are talking about a Christmas Grey Cup. That is just the calendar issue. Aside from the COVID testing, there is massive hotel and meal expenditures for the league to pick up for 9 teams, and this is a league that relies more than most others on gate revenue and not just predominantly TV money like the big 4, and not matter how the plan goes ahead there will be zero fans this year based on precedent from all other sports, and I don't see that changing by December. The real question here is the dreaded one - does the CFL come back at all? One year off actually saves them more money then trying to squeeze in a COVID cost-prohibitive season, but the teams are still taking a bath. And when the Roughriders are losing money last year in a normal year, and are considered one of the strongest franchises out there financially, then it is time to consider overhauling the entire business model or scrapping the league in its current form, sorry to say.

Speed, your argument in defence of Miller seems to be a bit of a moving target, so let's get back to your original point that people disagree with. You think Miller will be less hostile than Ambrosie in player negotiations. The counter-point is that he won't be because his personality is one of "my way or the highway". You then shift and say if he was hard to work for, people would have quit on him. That misses the point. In CBA negotiations, the players and their association are not working for him, they are working with him at best, or negotiating against him if spun in a more negative way. You then agree that he is a hard ass and control freak, which is what people were saying in the first place, but your argument shifts from "he'd be a better commish because he is less confrontational" to "his confrontational style worked for the Bombers because they won", which is another topic altogether. So if you think that style will work, OK, but that was not your point. You just want another reason to slag on Ambrosie IMO and use Miller as a better alternative (he may be) but your reasoning that he will be more conciliatory in negotiations seems way off if you want to make that the key point of your argument that he will be better.

So less than impressive qualifying round picks from me, so let's try again. Vegas over Chicago - trusting the experts that the Knights are as good as advertised, not really following them much myself Colorado over Arizona - Coyotes were outplayed by Nashville but snuck through, Avs are a beast and will not have as much trouble scoring Calgary over Dallas - won't believe in the Stars until they give me a reason to, they were slumping badly before the break and did not really pick it up upon resumption, Calgary looks built for the playoffs if Talbot remains hot St. Louis over Vancouver - really a coin flip here, but I'm going on Stanley Cup pedigree here and ignoring each team's respective first round showing. Montreal over Philadelphia - if the Flyers had not gotten top seed I'd feel more comfortable picking this upset, but despite their great showing in round robin, Carey Price was more than brilliant in upsetting the Pens, who I think are better than the Flyers. Guess I should listen to those who bought into the Price magic, goaltending can carry you all the way in the playoffs, and maybe he is getting into that groove. Philly the better team, but the best player is in bleu, blanc, et rouge. Tampa Bay over Columbus - Even without Hedman and Stamkos, Tampa has something to prove and will be more resiliant, and bad Torts will sulk after losses and the Jackets will not fluke out a comeback win or survive a big collapse like against the withered Leafs. NY Islanders over Washington - In Trotz we trust Carolina over Boston - have no clue what to make of either team here. Couldn't even name 5 Canes players if I tried, and Boston can't be so good in the regular season and then fold so badly after the hiatus, but there has to be some narrative to continue to discredit this year's playoff format, so add the President's Trophy winners losing the #1 seed and then getting bounced to the list of complaints of "Pens should have got a bye, Canadiens should not have qualified, 5 game series is too short, double lottery is stupid, etc. etc."