TrueBlue4ever

So we are down to final voting for the returners, as we selected Justin Medlock as the all-time kicker. Next up is the special teams player. This category will be limited to those who did the "other" duties on special teams, like those on the cover teams (either way) and other specialists like long snappers. Off the top of my head, I would throw out the following names: Wade Miller, Mike Miller, James Green, Henoc Muamba, Pierre-Luc Labbe, Brendan Rogers, Chandler Fenner, Donald Smith, Ian Wild, Shawn Gallant, Graeme Bell, Neil McKinley and Wayne Weathers among those who had high special teams tackle totals Rod Hill, Paul Clatney, Merv Walker, Marcus Howell and Michael Allen who excelled at blocking or recovering blocked kicks Chris Cvetkovic, Chad Rempel and John Bonk who were the long snappers on the team (Speedflex, was Bob Swift a long snapper too?) Would also consider anyone who was a great special team blocker or "broke the wedge" repeatedly, although this list of candidates is getting long already. Will try to get the bios up by Sunday, so add or subtract to this list before then.

I agree with the cheerleading comment. They would justify it based on the partisan display by the GOP on the other side, which was just as skewed, which is why I just read his opening statement and took it on face value as the truth until someone caught him in a lie on cross-examination with the questions, like JWR in Canada. In this case, since the Repubs ASKED NO QUESTIONS about his statement and went the character assassination route, his story held up. Same with JWR in Canada. The only dent Cohen might have taken was the position that he did not want a White House job and didn't get it as motivation for lying now to get revenge on Trump. I think easy to admit you wanted it and were offered it but declined due to conflict (he did most of this but refused to admit that he wanted the job in the first place) when even a pro-Cohen media outlet like CNN refutes that part of his story. Easier to deflect talk of personal gain (like the book deal angle) by saying "You think I lied, covered up, got caught and am going to prison and would keep perpetuating that lie for more prison time because I can score a big book deal, and that seems like a fair trade off to you?"

One man's take: So I voted for Lewis as my kick returner and AJ3 from the dual threat category as my kick returner there, so it is down to that pair for me. AJ3 had brilliant skill in both areas of kick and punt return, but if I limit my evaluation to his kick return ability, I say he falls short of Lewis' greatness. 3 years leading the CFL in kick return yards and 3 years leading in kick return average show that he was without peer in his era more so than Johnson was in his era. A ridiculous 29.1 yard career average on returns and a high of 32.5 - those are video game numbers with the game settings on "easy", and about 10 yards higher than the current numbers you'd see from a league leader. And his longevity also factors in, he kept up this pace over a decade rather than burning out after one or two years. So not even considering his revelatory work as a running back, Lewis is my choice here. And for punt returner, it's Hanson vs. Stokes (my choice as best punt returner from the dual threat group, nudging out Jovon Johnson who did not make this poll) for me. Bonus points to Hanson for legend status and his Hurculean effort in the Grey Cup, and always difficult to judge players across eras without stats information. Again, I see the TD return totals for Stokes, who was truly a return specialist and not just a position player thrown back there to field kicks, and I lean toward taking him. But if others want to see Fritz Hanson on this team somewhere, this may be his best shot. Again, I see AJ3 as even with Stokes as an overall returner, but focussing on punt returns alone Stokes beats him out (as would have Jovon), and I tend to edge them both ahead of Hanson for punt returns. So I will choose Stokes, but I won't argue with those who say Hanson should be the choice given his stature and the different blocking rules. Simply a personal preference fitting the limitations of this category in my mind.

So down to the final vote. Because the dual threat returner category had a tie with Stokes and Roberts, I have included them both in the poll options. So here is how it works: Vote for one name in each category, PR (punt returner) and KR (kick returner). The leader in each individual poll (Fritz Hanson for punt returner and Leo Lewis for kick returner) will face off against the challengers from the dual threat category, and you choose only one person for each category. So if you think that Leo Lewis was a better kick returner than anyone from the dual threat nominees, then vote for him. If you think that any one of the dual threat nominees was better SPECIFICALLY AS A KICK RETURNER, then vote for that one person. Then do the same in comparing Hanson to the same 3 dual threat nominees. You can consider the overall body of work and ability of the dual threat nominee in making the comparison, but remember that we are trying to identify a specific skill as a punt OR kick returner. So even if you feel that the dual threat returner was more talented overall, if you believe that as a specific type of returner, they fall short of the mark, vote for another person (ex. if you think AJ3 was overall a better returner than Lewis, but that Lewis was better in the specific area of kick returns, your vote should properly go to Lewis - at least that was my intention in devising the poll). Here once again are the bios: All-star recognition for returners began in 1986 Special Teams Player of the Year first awarded in 1999 Order of stats: returns-yards-average-long-TD Fritz Hanson – 8 seasons (1935-41, 45), no stats available, but here is a bio from CFLapedia: Hanson weighed only 145 pounds, but had incredible speed and elusiveness which earned him nicknames like "The Galloping Ghost," "The Golden Ghost," "Twinkle Toes" and the "Phantom Flash." Hanson joined the Blue Bombers in 1935 and helped lead Winnipeg to the first Grey Cup by a West team, upsetting the Hamilton Tigers 18-12. Hanson would go on to play with Winnipeg until 1941 when World War II got in the way and Hanson joined the Canadian Army. Hanson briefly returned to play for Winnipeg again in 1945, playing in at least one exhibition game before his Army duties forced him to retire for the season. In the 7 years from 1935 to 1941, the Bombers went to the Grey Cup 6 times, missing only once in 1936. Besides 1935, the Bombers and Hanson won two other Grey Cups in 1939 and 1941. That first win in 1935 was the big one though and while very few stats are available from that era, Hanson had 334 yards in kick returns that game including a 78 yard punt return for a touchdown. Hanson won West All-Stars (there were no Canadian All-Stars until 1962) in five straight years from 1937 to 1941. Canada’s Male athlete of the year (1939), CFL Hall of Fame, 6 Grey Cup appearances (1935, 37-41), 3-time Grey Cup champion (1935, 39, 41) Leo Lewis - 161 games in 12 seasons (1955-66), PR career: 3-21-7.0-12-0 (1960), KR career: 187-5443-29.1-91-1, best: 29 (1963)-854-32.8 (both 1957), led CFL in kick return yards (1957, 63, 64), led CFL in kick return average (1957, 58, 64), single season club record for kick return average (32.8 in 1957) and 3 of the top 5 single season averages in club history, #1 club all-time in career kick returns, yards, and average, 1962 Grey Cup MVP, 5-time team nominee for Most Outstanding Player (1958, 60, 61, 62, 65), CFL Hall of Fame, 6 Grey Cup appearances (1957-59, 61, 62, 65), 4-time Grey Cup champion (1958, 59, 61, 62) Albert Johnson III - 49 games in 3 seasons (2000, 2006-07), PR career: 233-1922-8.2-59-0, best: 85-810-9.5 (all 2006), KR career: 150-3282-21.9-96-1, best: 61-1506-24.7 (all 2000), MFG career: 16-619-38.7-122-1, best: 8 (2007)-277-69.2 (both 2000), team nominee for Outstanding Special Teams Player (2006), CFL Most Outstanding Special Teams Player (2000), CFL Rookie of the Year (2000), 2-time divisional and CFL all-star (2000, 06), Grey Cup appearance (2007), led CFL in kick return yards in 2000, led CFL in punt return yards in 2006, #5 CFL all-time in single season kick return yards (1506 in 2000), #4 club all-time in single season punt returns (85 in 2000), #2 club all-time in career kick returns, career kick return yards, single season kick return yards and single game kick return yards (198), club record for kick returns in one game (9) Charles Roberts - 131 games in 8 seasons (2001-08), PR career: 182-1735-9.5-75-2, best: 82-782 (both 2001)-10.8 (2002), KR career: 103-2151-20.9-50-0, best: 45-981-21.8 (all 2001), MFG career: 10-314-31.4-72-0, best: 5 (2002)-155-38.8 (both 2003), led CFL in punt return yards (2001), CFL Most Outstanding Special Teams Player (2001), West Division Most Outstanding Rookie (2001), divisional, CFL and CFLPA all-star (2001), 2 Grey Cup appearances (2001, 07), CFL Hall of Fame Keith Stokes - 37 games in 3 seasons (2004-05, 07), PR career: 176-1755-10.0-83-5, best: 80-949-11.9 (all 2004)-11.0, KR career: 108-2257-20.9-108-1, best: 56-1112 (both 2004)-24.6 (2007), MFG career: 18-448-24.9-75-0, best: 9 (2004)-185-37.0 (both 2005), CFL Most Outstanding Special Teams Player (2004), divisional, CFL and CFLPA all-star (2004), led CFL in punt return (949) and kick return yards (1112 – both in 2004), #3 club all-time in single season punt return yards, club records for single game punt return yards (154 in 2004), single season punt return TDs (4 in 2004), and career punt return TDs (5), #4 club all-time in career punt return average, #3 club all-time in single season kick returns, 4th longest kick return in club history

I go back to the debate with Hillary where she was asked why Putin feared her more than Trump, and she said Putin would rather have a puppet than a President. Trump took real umbrage at that quote, with a "I know you are but what am I?" schoolyard retort. Trump is a carnival barker, but isn't the underlying suspicion (and fear) that Stephen Miller is really the guy pulling the strings in the White House with his (let's be charitable and call it) Nationalist agenda? His handlers probably recognized the conflict of interest hurt them more politically than it did Trump financially, and they wanted him in power, so they tell him to deny any connection, rather than say "so what if I do?" We have heard so often his policy position is often the last thing he heard on the news that day, so it's pretty easy to imagine him being manipulated by his underlings to suit their needs, and just parroting the lines they feed him. As long as they remind him how popular he is and feed his ego with these rallies, he will think they have his back and go along with what they say. And getting back to what he fears most, I don't think it is not being liked that worries him, it is being outed as a weakling, when he has to project this tough New Yorker bully mindset. So he doubles down rather than admit defeat. That's why the Pelosi play on the wall shutdown (and the staged Oval office meeting where they got him to own the shutdown on the record and hang himself with his own words) was such a political masterstroke. The ultimate dealmaker being out-manouvered on live TV.

Don't think I heard anything that hasn't been uttered somewhere before, by the media, talk show hosts, or in court filings against others. Would have loved to have heard an answer to the question "What does Trump fear most?" from Cohen, rather than backing off. With respect to Trump doubling down even though he did not want the job and thinking he'd lose, that has always been his style. We've seen it when he's caught in an obvious lie with the factual counter-argument thrown in his face. His default is double-down rather than back-pedal.

So, did we learn anything new from Cohen's testimony yesterday, and will it have any real impact? Fascinating to see the responses to that versus the Wilson-Raybould testimony, and the fallout from that.

Would love to see each line get at least 12 minutes tonight, rather than overloading the top 6. This team needs to be more like the 2012 LA Kings IMO, where you can truly roll 4 lines and not burn out your stars.

No, this poll is just about returners. I did not want to have one poll with 24 candidates, especially since there are two positions to vote for. And rather than repeat some players in both polls and guess who should belong in which category, especially the 9 here who would arguably go in both sides, I thought picking one from those who solely returned punts, one from those who solely return kickoffs, and a pair from those who did both tasks, and then did a final comparison from those winners was the best way. But this is NOT about anything more than the ability to return.

I’m encouraged that Stokes is getting the votes he has, and a bit surprised by Roberts’ total. The club abandoned the idea of him as a returner by his 3rd year here and he was replaced by Stokes.

Roberts’ vote for you has now been included in the poll results.

One man’s take: This is a tricky one to sort out. The numbers show that most had one or two big years but flamed out quickly, but those big seasons were stronger than the work of those who played longer and had larger career numbers. Let’s try to sort them out one by one. Washington - strong punt return average, but really better as a kick returner. One monster season, and being on a weaker team that afforded him the chance to return a larger number of kicks (the most in any one season ever, in fact) inflates those numbers. Not at the top of either category for me. Stoudermire - one stellar season where he was the best in the league, but too small a body of work to top my list. Jefferson - reliable guy but not the best all time in either punt or kick returns. That gets me down to six who each have merit for one of the two spots. Roberts - as with his work as a running back, he made tons of people miss when they tried to tackle him, and could turn nothing into a 10-15 yard gain on any punt return, and always seemed dangerous when he caught the ball. However, he did not possess the breakaway speed that others had (the anti-Milt, he could actually be run down from behind - Stegall once said Charlie would get tired if he broke one for 50 yards, and needed a 20 yard head start to not get chased down). That lack of pure speed is reflected in a lower kick return average than others. His special teams award in '01 seemed like a consolation prize for not winning rookie of the year. Then the club stopped using him to return kicks and focussed on his amazing halfback skills. He will challenge in another category, so I will decline to vote him in here. Blount - the single greatest year any returner has had in club history, maybe league history. Was the club MVP in that abysmal 1998 season almost solely as a returner, and is #3 all time in CFL history in single season total yardage. Again, the lousy team gave him more chances to return kicks and pile up yards, but that 26.5 yard average is an obscene number (22 is a pretty solid number, 24 is usually league leading). I remember him better as a kick returner than punt returner, but again his 13.5 yard average that year is a staggering number when 9-10 yards is the norm for returns, and 11 often tops the league. Where most of the dual threats did both well but excelled more in one area, he was brilliant at both. Only the lack of longevity keeps him out of the top spot, but I would rank him as #2 or #3 in each area behind someone else in this group of 9. James - I feel like he is being woefully overlooked in this poll due to recency bias, and remember the lack of blocking on punt returns in his era and how gaudy that 9.1 return average now looks in comparison. Longer career leads to larger career numbers, but fewer touches in any one season gives him smaller one year totals. I guess his legacy is more running back than returner, so like Roberts I will ponder him in that category. AJ3 - When the media bestows upon you a nickname, they feel the need to label your greatness, like a brand name. So “Flight 87” was born. Still holds the record for all purpose yards in one game with a mind-blowing 474 in a wild night in Edmonton (we still lost that game), and of the two skills his work as a kick returner was superior. Hit the holes fast, and one miss and he was gone. He gets my vote as the best kick returner in this group (just edging out Blount) and one of my two selections for the final run-off. Stokes - For me, the mark of a great returner isn’t just the ability to get positive yards and have a decent average, it is the threat to take one to the house and put fear in the other team when they kick to you. Stokes was the master of that in his time here. I think it is accurate what was said by wbbfan about his boom or bust potential, but hard to overlook those 4 TDs in one season, and 5 in his career. And despite his prowess being more notable in punt returns, he is the only Bomber in history with 2 consecutive 1000+ yard kick return seasons. Bonus points for being brought back in 2007 when the club had no return threat and, despite all the weight he put on, taking one to the house in the East Final to upset the Argos and get the team into the Grey Cup. A couple more seasons and he would be a lock as the punt returner half of my duo in this poll. Jovon Johnson - the all time Bomber leader in career punt return yardage, and not only was he a threat to break one, he had a knack for doing it at the most crucial time. The only player to get 3 straight nods as the special team player of the year for the club. So down to him and Stokes for my second vote. 5 career TDs vs most career yards? 3 straight special team player nods vs overall skills as a kick returner too? Such a coin flip, but in the end, Johnson was a defensive back who also returned kicks, while Stokes was a return specialist first who moonlighted as a receiver. Stokes’ return abilities was the reason he had a roster spot, and at his best he outshoneJohnson’s best. Splitting the thinnest of hairs, I cast my second vote to Stokes, but there are maybe 5 here who would not be the wrong choice.

Sorry folks, this poll should not be closed yet. I’m having trouble with the editing. Maybe a mod could help? Supposed to be open until the end of the day Wednesday.

I will add a vote for him.

Did you mean AJ3 or Arland Bruce, who I did not include?

Jets are playing like a team praying for a trade deadline deal to jump start their season. That 2 day break was the wrong approach, clearly. I paid $400 for two of the worst seats in the house in Vegas for Friday. They had better show up that night or I'll be booing lustily. Who knew the theme song for tonight's game story was so prophetic. Apparently the thing to do in Denver when you are dead is play a hockey game against the Avs.

AJ3 is in the dual threat category, which i just posted.

Some real options here, and no clear cut favourite as either the best punt or kick returners from this group, or best all-around. I will stew on this a bit before offering one man's take.

Choose two. Use whatever criteria you wish but remember that these two will be compared against the punt returner champion and the kick returner champion to assign the greatest punt and kick returners in club history, so picking one who excelled in each area from this list may prove to be the best approach. Here are the bios: All-star recognition for returners began in 1986 Special Teams Player of the Year first awarded in 1999 Order of stats: returns-yards-average-long-TD Eric Blount - 37 games in 3 seasons (1998, 2001-02), PR career: 80-1055-13.2-92-1, best: 78-1051-13.5 (all 1998), KR career: 84-2112-22.4-96-2, best: 64-1695-26.5 (all 1998), MFG career: 7-161-23.0-52-0, best: 4-132-33.0 (all 1998), led CFL in punt return yards and average and kick return yards and average (1998), divisional and CFL all-star (1998), team nominee for Most Outstanding Player (1998), Grey Cup appearance (2001), #1 club all-time leader in single season punt return yards (1051 in 1998) and kick return yards (1695 in 1998), #2 club all-time in single season kick returns (64 in 1998) and single season punt return average (13.5 in 1998), club records for longest punt return (92 yards), single season and career kick return TDs (2, both in 1998), then-CFL record for single season kick return yards in 1998 (now #3 all-time) Gerry James – 135 games in 11 seasons (1952-62), PR career: 104-950-9.1-27-0, best: 52-517-9.9 (all 1952), KR career: 61-1463-24.0-55-0, best: 18 (1955)-483-28.4 (1954)-24.8, led CFL in punt return yards (1952), CFL Most Outstanding Canadian player (1954, 57), CFL Hall of Fame, 7 Grey Cup appearances (1950, 53, 57-59, 61, 62), 4-time Grey Cup champion (1958, 59, 61, 62) James Jefferson – 49 games in 3 seasons (1986-88), PR career: 119-1138-9.6-76-3, best: 71-650 (both 1988)-9.4 (1986), KR career: 32-757-23.7-94-1, best: 28-666-23.8 (all 1988), MFG career: 9-143-15.9-45-0, best: 9-143-15.9 (all 1988), Grey Cup appearance and champion (1988) Albert Johnson III - 49 games in 3 seasons (2000, 2006-07), PR career: 233-1922-8.2-59-0, best: 85-810-9.5 (all 2006), KR career: 150-3282-21.9-96-1, best: 61-1506-24.7 (all 2000), MFG career: 16-619-38.7-122-1, best: 8 (2007)-277-69.2 (both 2000), team nominee for Outstanding Special Teams Player (2006), CFL Most Outstanding Special Teams Player (2000), CFL Rookie of the Year (2000), 2-time divisional and CFL all-star (2000, 06), Grey Cup appearance (2007), led CFL in kick return yards in 2000, led CFL in punt return yards in 2006, #5 CFL all-time in single season kick return yards (1506 in 2000), #4 club all-time in single season punt returns (85 in 2000), #2 club all-time in career kick returns, career kick return yards, single season kick return yards and single game kick return yards (198), club record for kick returns in one game (9) Jovon Johnson – 107 games in 6 seasons (2008-13), PR career: 315-2934-9.3-83-3, best: 90-957 (2010)-11.0 (2012), KR career: 57-1276-22.4-54-0, best: 44-1049-23.8 (all 2009), MFG career: 23-704-30.6-118-1, best: 7 (2011)-203-67.7 (both 2009), 3-time team nominee for Outstanding Special Teams Player (2009-11), Grey Cup appearance (2011), #1 club all-time leader in career punt return yards, #3 club all-time in career punt returns, #2 club all-time in single season punt returns and yards (90-957 in 2010), club records for single game kick returns and yards (9-210 in 2009) Charles Roberts - 131 games in 8 seasons (2001-08), PR career: 182-1735-9.5-75-2, best: 82-782 (both 2001)-10.8 (2002), KR career: 103-2151-20.9-50-0, best: 45-981-21.8 (all 2001), MFG career: 10-314-31.4-72-0, best: 5 (2002)-155-38.8 (both 2003), led CFL in punt return yards (2001), CFL Most Outstanding Special Teams Player (2001), West Division Most Outstanding Rookie (2001), divisional, CFL and CFLPA all-star (2001), 2 Grey Cup appearances (2001, 07), CFL Hall of Fame Keith Stokes - 37 games in 3 seasons (2004-05, 07), PR career: 176-1755-10.0-83-5, best: 80-949-11.9 (all 2004)-11.0, KR career: 108-2257-20.9-108-1, best: 56-1112 (both 2004)-24.6 (2007), MFG career: 18-448-24.9-75-0, best: 9 (2004)-185-37.0 (both 2005), CFL Most Outstanding Special Teams Player (2004), divisional, CFL and CFLPA all-star (2004), led CFL in punt return (949) and kick return yards (1112 – both in 2004), #3 club all-time in single season punt return yards, club records for single game punt return yards (154 in 2004), single season punt return TDs (4 in 2004), and career punt return TDs (5), #4 club all-time in career punt return average, #3 club all-time in single season kick returns, 4th longest kick return in club history Troy Stoudermire – 21 games in 2 seasons (2014-15), PR career: 105-1151-11.0-78-2, best: 67-677 (both 2015)-12.5 (2014), KR career: 75-1652-22.0-51-0, best: 47-963 (both 2015)-24.6 (2014), MFG career: 1-29-29.0-29-0 (2014), led CFL in punt return average (2014), team nominee Outstanding Special Teams Player (2015), #3 club all-time in single season punt return average, #1 club all-time in career punt return average Demond Washington - 67 games in 4 seasons (2012-15), PR career: 78-786-10.1-82-2, best: 57-588 (both 2012)-11.9 (2013), KR career: 84-1873-22.3-96-1, best: 66-1423-21.6 (all 2012), MFG career: 4-52-13.0-19-0, best: 3-35-11.7 (all 2014), single season club record for kick returns (66 in 2012), #3 club all-time in kick return yards in one season, #3 club all-time in career punt return average

OK, time for the Oscar picks, since I will be out of range for the next week starting tomorrow. Tough year to call the Best Picture winner as no frontrunner has emerged. And I was lucky enough to get free movies all year, so I saw 6 of the 8 contenders (basically saw a movie a week - best contest win ever!) Best Picture Black Panther BlacKkKlansman Bohemian Rhapsody The Favourite Green Book Roma A Star Is Born Vice My pick: Green Book - wide open category here. Panther was fun and a "cultural phenomenon" supposedly, but a comic book super hero movie won't win, even if (or especially if) it is more about proving how diverse Hollywood is and honouring a "black" film to dispel the "Oscars so white" label. BlacKkKlansman would be a better choice if Hollywood wants to go that way - a very relevant and timely view of race relations 30 years ago and still today that doesn't pull punches, but feels even-handed even in Spike Lee's hands. I think it deserves to win but it has no buzz. Bohemian Rhapsody was my favorite of this list, and would be deserving, but Hollywood doesn't like to give the big award to populist fare anymore to prove it is highbrow, so no win here (again would love to see it win - the last 20 minutes was the best piece of film all year to my eyes). Didn't see The Favorite, but it has little buzz. Roma is the one other film with a chance to win, and it is by all accounts a better film than Green Book, and this is the other one I didn't see. Just can't imagine Hollywood voting in a streaming service Netflix film as Best Picture, even if that is the inevitable future of the industry. A Star is Born was the one that should have swept the awards when it came out, but it has fallen off the map since it was basically shut out at the Golden Globes. And Vice is almost too clever and at the same time "beat you over the head" Liberal for its own good (they even make a joke about that at the end) and is more an acting and writing showcase than a complete picture. Green Book was pleasant enough, but a little thin in my books, but it has survived the backlash and is a nice clean race relations film (think Driving Miss Daisy) that strives not to offend, honours the stoic black figure who transforms but is also saved by the white protagonist savior, so it is the safe choice. It's not what I would vote for, but the one I think will win. Best Actor Christian Bale (Vice) Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate) Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) Viggo Mortensen (Green Book) My pick: Rami Malek - pretty much a slam dunk at this point, and well deserved (seen the movie 5 times, his performance is more impressive each time out), although Christian Bale's D-I-c-k Cheney is a very impressive if less showy piece of acting. Best Actress Yalitza Aparicio (Roma) Glenn Close (The Wife) Olivia Colman (The Favourite) Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born) Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) My pick: Glenn Close - she has been campaigning hard and seems to have stolen the momentum from Olivia Colman, and after a record 7 nominations with zero wins (and being denied for Fatal Attraction) this is the lifetime achievement award of the night. Best Supporting Actor Mahershala Ali (Green Book) Adam Driver (BlacKkKlansman) Sam Elliott (A Star Is Born) Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) Sam Rockwell (Vice) My pick: Mahershala Ali - big upset if he doesn't continue his winning streak, despite some quiet late support for Elliott and Grant. Best Supporting Actress Amy Adams (Vice) Marina de Tavira (Roma) Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) Emma Stone (The Favourite) Rachel Weisz (The Favourite) My pick: Regina King - has won pretty much every award so far, so another near certainty here. Amy Adams is turning into the next Kate Winslet or Glenn Close for nominations without a win, but this is not the performance to break her losing streak Best Directing Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman) Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War) Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite) Alfonso Cuarón (Roma) Adam McKay (Vice) My pick: Alfonso Cuaron - everyone agrees his personal homage to family (which he also wrote, produced, and did the cinematography for) is the out-and-out best storytelling of the year, so he bests Spike Lee here. Best Adapted Screenplay The Ballad of Buster Scruggs BlacKkKlansman Can You Ever Forgive Me? If Beale Street Could Talk A Star Is Born My pick: BlacKkKlansman - Since they won't give him Best Director, here is the Academy's chance to honour Spike Lee. Potential for the best (or more likely most political) acceptance speech of the night. And Beale Street would be another option to showcase the African-American viewpoint of life in the US right now, so it might come through. Outside of a Best Picture upset win for A Star Is Born, this is Bradley Cooper's best shot at an Oscar, so if they don't want him to go 0/3 (and since they snubbed him as a director), this would be the category to throw him a bone. Best Original Screenplay The Favourite First Reformed Green Book Roma Vice My pick: Green Book - if this film is going to win Best Picture, it would be very surprising to see it not win here too. The irony is the family of Dr. Sheldon disputes the accuracy of the screenplay, so that could put into question the legitimacy of the adaptation. Plus the writer made a pro-Trump tweet about Muslims cheering on 9/11, which did not sit well with the Muslim actor Ali. Retracted, but with sensitivities so high, could face a backlash. If The Favorite takes this award, watch for Roma to win Best Picture. And Vice could sneak through if there is a split vote since it was a pretty clever satire. Best Animated Film Incredibles 2 Isle of Dogs Mirai Ralph Breaks the Internet Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse My pick: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - one of the surest bets of the night if the awards season so far is any indicator. My son thought it was very cool, and the best animated movie he saw this year, even more than Incredibles 2. Best Cinematography Cold War The Favourite Never Look Away Roma A Star Is Born My pick: Roma - dark horse is Cold War, another foreign language film from Poland, but again Cuaron's work is the most celebrated this year. Best Costume Design The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Black Panther The Favourite Mary Poppins Returns Mary Queen of Scots My pick: The Favorite - period dramas usually win this category, and it was better received than Mary Queen of Scots. Upset potential for Black Panther if the Academy wants to give it an outside the box award in a category that isn't a technical award like sound of visual effects (which it didn't even get nominated for). Best Documentary Feature Free Solo Hale County This Morning, This Evening Minding the Gap Of Fathers and Sons RBG My pick: RBG - come on, this is Liberal Hollywood gold, picking the Supreme Court hero (and kind of a middle finger to Trump and his boy Kavanagh), even though Free Solo was supposedly a better film. Think An Inconvenient Truth redux, plus she just got back on the bench last week, so she is relevant right now. Best Documentary Short Subject Black Sheep End Game Lifeboat A Night at the Garden Period. End of Sentence. My pick: As Bill Murray used to say on SNL when he picked the Oscar winners during the fake news "Hey, who cares?" Pure guess here based on reading another predictor's work, but I'll say Period. End of Sentence wins out over the favoured Black Sheep. It is a lighter happier piece, so it works in a short doc form, whereas a feature length doc handles the more serious stuff. Best Film Editing BlacKkKlansman Bohemian Rhapsody The Favourite Green Book Vice My pick: If Green Book is to win Best Picture, this might ne an undercard category they give it a momentum building win to, and some experts think Vice might get some love here, but I think the concert scenes and how they were shot, especially the Live Aid sequence, gives Bohemian Rhapsody the win, if the Bryan Singer toxicity doesn't extend to the film editor's work. Best Foreign-Language Film Capernaum Cold War Never Look Away Roma Shoplifters My pick: Logic says if Roma is a co-favorite for Best Picture, it should win here. But some feel that if it does win the big prize, then they will reward Cold War here as a consolation prize. Go with logic. Roma wins. Best Makeup and Hairstyling Border Mary Queen of Scots Vice My pick: Since he won't win Best Actor, the Academy will give the make-up award to Vice for transforming Christian Bale into D-I-c-k Cheney doppelganger Best Original Score Black Panther BlacKkKlansman If Beale Street Could Talk Isle of Dogs Mary Poppins Returns My pick: One would think a musical based on a Disney film like Mary Poppins has the edge, and Beale Street needs more recognition and would deserve a win here, but Black Panther won the Grammy (not always the best indicator) and gives the film some cred beyond its ground-breaking nomination, so give it to Black Panther Best Original Song “All the Stars” (Black Panther) “I’ll Fight” (RBG) “The Place Where Lost Things Go” (Mary Poppins Returns) “Shallow” (A Star Is Born) “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) My pick: I am in Vegas this weekend (Go Jets!), so if I want a sure bet on anything in the world in the next 7 days, I should lay money on Shallow. The best way to recognize Lady Gaga's performance in the film, and the film itself, which has been otherwise snubbed. Surest pick of the night. Best Production Design Black Panther The Favourite First Man Mary Poppins Returns Roma My pick: Another category where period pieces dominate when they get nominated, so go with The Favorite. If Black Panther wins here, it could pave the way for a Best Picture upset. Best Animated Short Film Animal Behaviour Bao Late Afternoon One Small Step Weekends My pick: It was cute and heartwarming, made by Pixar, and actually was seen on many thousands of movie screens in the theatre as the lead in for The Incredibles 2, so from sheer exposure and the brand name behind it, give it to Bao. Best Live-Action Short Film Detainment Fauve Marguerite Mother Skin My pick: I dunno. Marguerite? Best Sound Editing Black Panther Bohemian Rhapsody First Man A Quiet Place Roma My pick: So for anyone who, like me, has little understanding of what the difference is between sound editing and mixing - editing is basically creating all the sound for a film other than dialogue (apparently 98% of the sound on a film in done after the fact and not live, so it has to be re-synched in a studio after). The editor re-creates ambient noise like wind, footsteps, background crowds to give but 3 examples, and puts them all in. The editor decides WHAT you hear, or don't hear for that matter. The mixer then decides HOW you hear it, what to make louder or softer, including an overlapping film score, to make it seamless in the overall picture. You're welcome. The two favorites in both categories are First Man and Bohemian Rhapsody, so it makes sense to split the awards between these two films. Since the editor creates sounds, even those that don't exist in real life, the more daring non-traditional sounds that are found in sci-fi often win, so give this one to First Man for it's creation of space flight. Sneaky dark horse would be A Quiet Place, where the absence of sound was just as important. Best Sound Mixing Black Panther Bohemian Rhapsody First Man Roma A Star Is Born My Pick: A film with music as its centrepiece seems a logical choice for sound mixing, and since it captured both scenes in the recording studio and live concerts (with actual shots of the sound mixers doing their thing in the film), and is about a band that pioneered influential recordings and experimental sounds in their music, the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody should win here. Plus, I gave the other award to First Man and said I'd split the two awards between that and this film, so there. If A Star Is Born is to have any chance of re-igniting its Oscar mojo, a win here would be a harbinger of that. Best Visual Effects Avengers: Infinity War Christopher Robin First Man Ready Player One Solo: A Star Wars Story My pick: The Oscars likes the splashy, impossible-to-conceive-in-the-human-world type of effects, so First Man is too subtle despite being one of the most realistic views of what space flight would be like. And Christopher Robin is effects in an actor's world, rather than actors in a CGI effects world. Of the 3 remaining films, go with the biggest blockbuster. Avengers deserves something given what is has brought to the cinematic universe. Voila. First one who types TLDR gets a middle finger from me, lol. At least not as long as the ceremony itself, I just saved you 3.5 hours on Sunday.

Raimey is a good candidate for the running back candidates, or even the "jack-of-all-trades" list which someone suggested which I am now likely to add, so I am confident you will have other chances to vote for him. He was a threat all over the field it seems. Too bad he moved on to Toronto and didn't play our his whole career in Blue and Gold.

'Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants.'

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2821511-dodgers-legend-and-former-nl-mvp-don-newcombe-dies-at-92?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

Kick returners list is up in a separate thread, but this poll stays open until next Monday, so keep the votes coming. And the dual threat list will be up later today in yet another separate poll. And just to clarify the way I will handle this voting poll: The winner of this poll will move on to the run-off poll. The winner of the kick return poll likewise. In the dual threat poll, I will ask voters to choose the top two, but will stress that you consider who on that list may have been the best punt returner and who was the best kick returner from that group as your 2 selections (if you feel the same player was both, then choose a runner-up in that poll anyway). Teams have really specialized recently and used different players for those different returns, so I don't want to exclude anyone with a generic "returner" category. But you can certainly consider that player's overall ability in both areas in deciding how good they were in each area. Once I have those top 2 choices, I will re-submit a poll for both categories, and put the punt return winner head-to-head-to-head with the 2 dual threat selections, and ask who of those 3 is truly the best punt returner, and will likewise put the kick return winner against those same 2 dual threat selections for the ultimate kick return champion. So you will re-vote based on choosing one of three in each category. It hopefully will all make sense when you see the poll. And keep the discussion going, all opinions are valued and add to the debate!

Very valid points. Which is why it is important to consider the era and compare these returners to their peers who played at the same time on other teams, as well as against their competition in the poll. That's why Bennett, with no blinding speed like today's burners, rates so high. He was steady and sure-handed, and was the best returner in the game hands down before Gizmo arrived. But that role has evolved too and become a legitimate weapon like never before.