TrueBlue4ever

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr made an impassioned speech saying how the majority of Americans were being held hostage by 50 senators on gun control, and it frustrated me because they are not being held hostage so long as they exercise their vote. But an article from The Atlantic offers a perspective on why it is so difficult to make a majority vote mean anything. Good read. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/05/senate-state-bias-filibuster-blocking-gun-control-legislation/638425/

Why are citizens allowed to buy body armour? It’s not part of the Second Amendment, and has no practical purpose for game hunting, does it?

Any team not named Tampa Bay and maybe NYR has to have some concern about their goaltending being up to playoff level requirements.

Today’s selection features two of the most under appreciated and unfairly maligned Bombers in recent memory. Both helped turn the club from a poor sister into a contender and ultimately a champion. Both also embraced the city and were true givers back to this community, both in spirit and in charitable contributions. Class people, leaders, winners, Grey Cup champions. Matt Nichols and Paul LaPolice.

Hey, that was a nice corner route Kamau ran there, I see the hands are still an issue though.

Some interesting history on the ratio rules courtesy CFL database website cfldb.ca: ”Prior to the formation of the CFL, Canadian Rugby Unions restricted the number of imports on a team to five starting in 1936. In addition, players were required to reside in Canada for one year to participate in the Grey Cup. While the rule is sometimes described as being developed to protect Canadian jobs, it was in fact implemented to develop the sport in Canada since there were no football "jobs" to have in Canada. While many factors result in todays restrictions, it is recognizing having Canadians on the rosters and starting positions is important to the continued development of football in Canada.” Roster changes over the years: CRU still controlled roster restrictions in the mid-1950’s and limited teams to 10 imports and only 8 imports allowed to play in a game. So in effect 16 Canadian starters guaranteed on offence and defence. But unlimited availability of “naturalized non-imports”, who were deemed Canadian by virtue of 5 years of residency in Canada. 1964 - active roster set at 30 players, 17 non-import and 13 import (so 11 starters have to be Canadians based on roster size), 2 man inactive roster (1 IMP, 1 NI), and NI status set as 5 years active residency in Canada or born in Canada with 13 or first 21 years spent in Canada 1965 - 32 man roster, 18 NI, 14 IMP, max 3 naturalized non-imports allowed on roster, so 10 starters would need to be Canadian. 1968 - 1 of the IMP positions becomes a designated import, can only replace another IMP who cannot re-enter the game, so now 11 starters must be NI. 1970 - the DI rule now includes QBs who can come in and out without limitation, so the dedicated back-up QB is established. 11 players will still be NI starters based on the roster numbers. 1972 - roster up to 33 players, 18 NI, 15 IMP with one of them a DI, so now minimum 10 starting NI. Another 1 NI roster spot was added in 1973 1986 - The designations switched to 19 NI, 13 IMP, and 3 QB (one QB spot dropped in 1987 and rosters down to 34). The standard make-up of the starting offence and defence at that time was American QB, RB, and 2 WR on offence with 2 SB, FB and 5 OL as Canadians (so 8 of 12 Canadian positions on offence) and a Canadian nose tackle and safety with the rest American on defence (playing a 3-4 defence usually), the remainder of the Canadians were back-ups and the kicker/punter. The Old DI rule was eliminated. 1988 - roster 36, 20 NI, 14 IMP, 2 QB, now 1 DI limited to playing special teams, so still 10 starters will be Canadian. 1990 - rosters go up by 1 QB spot to stand at 37 1993 - American based team joins the league, due to US labour laws the Canadian ratio rule cannot be implemented on those teams as the league expands through 1995. Baltimore especially takes advantage of this discrepancy to stock it’s entire starting roster and all back-ups with Americans, giving them a decided competitive edge over the Canadian squads. 2002 - significant change to ratio as rosters increase to 40 with a drop of one NI to 19 total, an increase of four IMP to 18, and 3 QB. Two of the imports are DI who can play unlimited in special teams, but can also replace another import on offence or defence. This guaranteed that no more than 16 IMP plus a (almost certainly American) QB can be starters, allowing for a minimum of 7 Canadians to be starters (a drop of 3). 2006- rosters up to 42 with 1 NI and 1 IMP added, and the number of DI spots now up to 3, Canadian starting spots still secured at 7. 2014 - rosters up to 44 with the addition of 1 NI for a total of 21 (now called Nationals, with new rules on how they are classified), and 1 IMP (now called Internationals), now up to 20. Canadian starters still at 7 because the added IMP is another DI (now 4 of them to keep starting Americans at 16, and a QB). 2019 - rosters to 45 with the addition of a Global player, who does not need to be a starter. (Americans now called Americans) 2020 - rosters to 46 with a 45 man active roster and 1 man reserve with another Global player added and a QB removed if teams want. The reserve player can be any designation, but active roster still must allow for maximum 20 Americans, minimum 21 Canadians, and minimum 2 Globals, and 2 QBs. 7 starting Canadians required, but new rule allows for up to 3 American veterans classified as Canadians (3 years with club or 4 years in CFL) to replace them if they are injured, so potentially only 4 Canadian “starters” after the first play of the game. This is the first time an American can be labelled as a Canadian based solely on league tenure and not any citizenship requirements. FYI this CBA ratification passed with only 76% approval from the players. Now the proposals have gone from no ratio at all, to the 7 Canadian starters but one re-classified American as the 8th “Canadian” starter full time, and 3 more who can replace Canadians regardless of injury or not if they play one snap less than half the game. And now the compromise which is remove the 49% rules but drop the Canadian ratio to 6 with a re-classified American as the 7th Canadian. Look at the long-term trend and you can see why Canadians might be concerned about losing their jobs, and why they might vote to reject a deal that would go against their own self-preservation. One last thought/question for those who think that the ratio should go because it is the unique rules of the CFL that make it great, not necessarily the Canadian players - if the league was entirely American players groomed on 4 down football with no Canadians or players who played a 3 down version in college, how soon before the next CBA where they vote to change all the rules to the same as the NFL, and how much resistence would any of those exclusively American players give to that change that so many traditionalists are vehemently against?

CHL also has roster rules that limit the number of imports a team can have, to keep the number of Canadians on the roster constant and to keep the grassroots development strong. MLS also has import roster rules, and specific rules to allow homegrown players a chance to make more money.

Dave Naylor explains the union vote issue here: If 90-100 players in each camp, then 800-900 total voters. Removing 400 from that vote skews things pretty drastically, and if the vast majority of those lost voters are American, then the Canadians get an over-represented voice. With rosters of 21 Canadians, 23 Americans (counting QBs) and 2 Globals, a divisive issue like ratio changing will split the vote almost 50/50, so screwing with ability to vote for Americans can make a big difference. Simoni may have a valid concern. I could imagine an equally insensitive Canadian player’s response to you being: “All of the player concessions fall Sole(l)y at the feet of the Canadians...we have already lost one of our guaranteed 7 starting spots to the “veteran American” (and it used to be 12 Canadians, then 11)...now you want our reps cut down which will soon lead to full-time loss of the spot and only 4 Canadians per team…....prove your own worth by making the starting 24 and stop crying. Canadians have been the backbone of this league and the reason inferior Americans who can’t make the NFL have another option to play football and get a second look, and paid in many instances when they would have no career option...if there is no ratio many a Canadian player who is better like an Andrew Harris never even gets a fair chance to compete from the start due to being ousted by a far cheaper American who had the advantage of a big shiny US College program ..yes it's the CFL and nationality which is what the league was founded on should not be compromised so that a few top Americans can be paid more and create a greater divide between the top and bottom money-makers on a team and divide a locker room even further by creating a rich and poor class system...I can tell you first hand many a great American player had the opportunity to come here as he has had NFL coaches in his ear telling him to not waste his time in the league cause he gonna be cut for not being big enough, fast enough, tall enough, mature enough, doesn’t fit the NFL model enough (see Willie Jefferson for one) until he gets a solid look here, performs, and then the League gets past its biases and takes a second look, all because the CFL was there to showcase him (see Doug Flutie and Cameron Wake for two more)…..this is facts You still will require 20 Americans plus QBs plus two more designated imports..suck it up..prove your worth rather than demanding less Canadians get jobs in their home country and being indignant when they choose to vote no to sacrificing their own jobs for you..if it's mainly the Canadians balking at the 49% thing it’s because it’s just another step towards eliminating Canadians all together and wiping out any sense of”Canadian” in the CFL..and alienating the Canadian fan base by having American league with American rules and American players without guys who are home town heroes who put butts in seats and have their merchandise fly off shelves (Harris and Demski probably moved more jerseys than Zach Collaros)……if Americans don’t want to play up in Canada as immigrants taking jobs from Canadians (funny when the MAGA war cry is on the other foot, isn’t it?) they can go play in the XFL, USFL, arena league, or whatever other US spring league has been created this year and watch it fold in a year or two while their player paycheques bounce again and again, or they can come up here and earn their spot in the most-tenured football league in North America and only stable viable option to the NFL to keep their football dream alive, or they can go work at Walmart with their 4 year college football scholarship degree, or they can eat a bag...” Not so sure the fans have been truly united. Majority of the vocal folks seemed to be firmly in the players’ corner and did not like the ratio changes in the first offer, but now that the Canadian players are pushing back at voting themselves out of a job, the vocal public is now casting them as the villains because it might delay the season. And we need to be careful about the utility of “tapping the pulse of the fan base”. The CFL would probably prefer to tap the pulse of the non-fan to see what would make them a fan rather than catering to the established fan who is not likely to go anywhere anyway, even if Canadians are eliminated (as the flip-flop on the ratio stance would seem to indicate).

Khari Jones.

A surprisingly weak number reserved for many back-up QBs and DBs, but one iconic photo makes today’s choice an easy one. Kicker Alexis Serna being consoled by coach Richard Harris after a tough game.

Oops, did not notice the typo. Thanks for the the catch, have corrected it. Stupid auto carrot.

Kyrie Wilson getting excited for the three peat kickoff in 19 days.

D-I-c-k Huffman

By that logic, the lowest paid player would always make more than the best paid coach. It’s got nothing to do with risk, the players are the faces that sell the game. People pay to watch Connor McDavid do magical things on the ice, not watch the brilliant coaching moves of Darryl Sutter behind the bench. Kids clamour for player autographs, not coach’s.

Madison Cawthorn does not seem to be taking his loss well. open the link to the Daily Beast article to get the full crazy.

OK, Darryl Sutter just went up another notch in my books.

That they exponentially increase in levels of suckitude with each sequel in a blatant George Lucas/Disney cash grab. Just a hunch.

Here’s the senior class final exam question. Get it right and you are hired as the Rough Riders special teams coordinator.

https://www.grey cup festival.ca/109th-grey-cup-tickets/ The 109th Grey Cup tickets will go on sale to the remaining 8 team’s season ticket holders on May 26th, 2022. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on June 14th, 2022. They corrected the website this morning, albeit only in the last two hours or so. It’s Saskatchewan, this would qualify as Operation Warp Speed for them.

And then came to Winnipeg for grades two through twelve? I kid! I kid! Actually, that would be the accelerated program for grade one graduation in Riderville. Anything under 5 years and you get a “my kid is an honour student” bumper sticker for your tractor.

Especially for the fan base who will be hosting the game at the new time. Anticipate chaos.