Nasty Nate

100% accurate. Enstrom is a tremendous talent but in a non-contact league. His skills are hi-level. And he's a near all-star (3rd team all-star) when he's not involved in physical play. However, when an opponent needs a push against the Jets they'll invariably go after Toby and Toby will be unable to withstand any degree of force or power against him.

Joe skooped the bomber coffers for enough money to buy himself morning coffee for the next half million years. He also set in motion other money burns by offing Paul LaPolice, his chosen coach and putting in a guy who was a career lifer assistant (Burke). Burned a big hole in the bombers bank accounts although as we all know any openness of bomber money is verboten. Thank cripes they can bleed GST (Greg Selinger Taxmaster) for additional funds when required as we know Selinger's money is NOT public money, right?

Neither guy is gonna be fast-tracked into the Hall of Fame. Even the Bomber hall of fame!

My favourite nickname - White Zombie - aka Jim Daly Nickname that gets certain folk up in arms - Lord Lyle Bauer Obscure seldom-used nicknames - Dan 'Hoss' Goodspeed & Brett 'Bobo' McNeil What player did I used nickname Precious for? hint: he ate himself out of the league, not a bomber!

I'll give you Joey has a bigger arm for just hoisting things 60 yards downfield. Neither guy has Ricky Ray accuracy but Hall is slightly more accurate and doesn't mind running a dink 'n dunk offense Standing back in the pocket and waiting 3 to 5 seconds for receivers to crack open would mean a quick end to Joey E. as he'd be killed waiting or firing off picks. Joey might be a bit younger and more durable but nobody in this league can question Max Hall's gut-meter.

If you aren't the real Nate you should be sued for copyright infringement . I'd bring Elliot back and let him compete with Max Hall. I'm the real Nate. Ask me any old Nate trivia questions and I'll answer!

Shocked!!!

Whether I step foot in the facility or not is just a red herring. Even if I went to a few games that issue won't go away. The acid test this year is whether enough people go to the stadium especially with a sub-average to mediocre product on display. We suspect (and truly hope) Mike O is the real deal. Also that Walters and Miller have their fingers on the pulse. But I don't think crowds of 25,000 to 26,500 is gonna be sustainable. O well, the NDP will always subsidize the program as long as they're in power. The Grey Cup in 2015 is a good thing in that it will force tons of individuals to buy season tickets in order to be assured Grey Cup tickets. Thats a good thing. Whats the current season ticket base as of March 29, 2014? Anyone know?

I think Asper doing what he did to 'trick' Selinger into cutting the initial cheque, then a long term loan and now a death thru a million papercuts was nicely set up. Selinger is on the hook for almost everything now and using the idea that he's negotiating with Stuart Olson Dominion to see who eventually pays for the upgrades is farcical. Selinger took on the project and now he's being buried in it.

The fear - and this is lost on many is that IGF may become a money pit. Obviously, the builder just laid down a basic standard V6 with no power steering, disc brakes, etc. on the premises. Old 8 track sound system (awesome sound on those old 8trax btw), no insulation cuz they thought the bomber seasons started in July and usually ended in late October, early November. I don't think the government or the team BBB can put a limit on the money draw. When something fails the NDP govt. will either issue an in-house order transferring the necessary funds to repair or patch the next problem that pops up. Doesn't matter if the final tag becomes $240 million or $340 million. As for W. Miller he's smart. The team doesn't own the stadium. They just use it under the agreement. So when things crumble the last thing to happen is the Bombers paying for repairs. I kinda agree with how Miller is handling this aspect.

The Jets roster is too far loaded with AHL crossover players, below average NHL'rs and inferior slightly below average goal=tending. You could hand that roster to the ghosts of Scotty Bowman, Toe Blake & Mike Babcock and you might end up 2 or 3 points better than what Noel & Maurice coaxed outta them. Jet ownership and management get thru potential fan rebellions by being forthright and talkative, sending out Chevldayoff every so often to provide a state of the union. Chipman also emerges from the lair on occasion. Even if Maurice signs on for 3 more years the form chart on the Jets is they'll do little other than signing up the odd mid-card free agent (Clitsome & Ellerby types) and draft someone we didn't think they would with their first round selection. Virtually the same core will come back next season - perhaps missing a few from the Setoguchi, Jokinen, Wright, THorburn, Tangredi, Pardy, etc. list. Next year I see more of the same. A nice long winning run around the mid-season mark, more injuries mainly due to inferior training and conditioning and the normal swan dive down the stretch. This year Jets will be officially eliminated with 4 or 5 games left on the docket. They might get it down to 3 or 4 next year.

I wouldn't have a problem taking the C off Ladd and putting it on Wheeler, Stuart or Schief (maybe Schief in 2 years) Ladd is a superb 3rd line winger and could fill this role for most upper echelon NHL teams. He's not a 1st line winger to be sure and I see far too many small flaws in his game to be a 2nd line guy unless its for a dog team like Winnipeg, Floorda, Edmonton, Ottawa. He's far too cavalier with the puck, too many blind passes, etc. Also tends to wash off his back-check far too soon and let guys attack his net with little or no resistance. Joker and Setoguchi are not tradeable as their contracts are up this year. Pavelec is a tough trade as most NHL GMs would laugh when they heard Chevy was trying to move him. For what? A box of tape! His contract is far too high to be a backup as its apparent he's never going to be an elite starter. Enstrom could probably be traded to a team like Detroit where their puck control game suits him and he wouldn't be required to do any physical work.

The following article by Wpg Free Press writer BaRLEY kIVEs sums up some of the cost components and separates them quite nicely. It appears the province is advancing the bombers much more than I originally wrote about. 3.5 mill. for the pipe fix, 4 mil. for the Grey Cup deal, 1.5 mill. for other. The real gist of the article is the blithering incompetence of the stadium design team and the aspect of Stu Olson Dominion suddenly going ignorant and just following weak plans to a t. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/rise-in-stadium-cost-just-leaves-me-cold-252590251.html

He;s a name brander with a 5 million dollar salary. People get hypnotized by sub-text

It appears to this observer Selinger's NDP are advancing monies to the bombers under the guise of 'Grey Cup Set-Up' when in fact these monies are being used to cover 'design negligence flaws'. Rather than being transparent and just anteeing up the money with the stated purpose of upgrading whats basically still an unfinished stadium they fear public questioning so the money can be transferred more easily under the Grey Cup premise. btw - what happened to the idea that the main contractor was responsible for everything?

Also made a mistake w/ Grant Clitsome, Setogucci, Tiny Enstrom, Burmistrov, Antropov, etc. Bogosian is regressing.

My thoughts fwiw - the Jets are admitting they're not playoff bound so giving Captain Ladd the night off was no big deal. Lots of guys have been getting nights off, including those who play! If Jets were 1 pt. behind the last playoff spot its a slightly different matter. Season is now another write-off so dropping down actually gives us a slightly higher draft pick. If we lose out we could conceivably get the 3rd or 4th pick overall but once they're officially eliminated and the pressure is off they'll win a few, probably meaning drafting 6th to 8th overall.

I think they've shown incredible patience with Kane. Especially his propensity to take 2 minutes for being stupid penalties. Problem was when he was drafted he was not slotted down to the minors to learn the basics of the game. Thus his toolkit is the same as when it was when he was 18. 6'2", 195 lb. winger (which is actually under-sized for a power forward) who can skate like the wind and shoot off-line bullets but after that his toolkit is virtually empty. If we wait another year to see his skill set repeat then we won't even get two 3rd rounders for the kid. Gotta cut the cord soon - I'm sure Paul Maurice doesn't trust Kane much either!

Yes, I've heard the overall economic activity from an event like this is anywhere from 60 to 100 million. But I don't recall "loans" of over 4 million being provided for prior Cups in Winnipeg. The last Grey Cup at Rustbucket Field yielded anywhere from 4 to 5 million in 'profit' without the big advance.

I would offer up a dumpstain like Kane in a minute. Lets the Islanders rehabilitate this man with so many bad on-ice habits. Great speed, errant shot, no real on-ice vision. BIg Buff would be a bitter pill to swallow but we haven't won squat with this 6'4", 300 pounder patrolling the ice. Obviously, Tavares is verboten (like Trouba and Schiefele to the Jets) But I'd certainly consider taking a hi-grade 3rd d-man like Travis Hamonic, a quality 3rd line centre and the Isles first draft pick this year. Hamonic, a #1 pick and a quality 3rd line centre won't be enough to get the jets to the playoff promised land this year but by 2016 they should be showing some life. I also want them to upgrade the goal=tending as Pavelec isn't really the kind of stopper necessary to make up for the developing roster. Guys like Lowery and O'Dell should be ready to replace fringers like Thorburn, Tangredi, Wright, etc. I think the Jets actually did well this year. To end up with 79 or 80 pts with the AHL and ECHL sludge on this roster is pretty darn good. And I really hate it when the GM says we've got a good core of guys. He means 12 to 15 guys which is kinda deceitful. imho the jets quality core is more like 6 to 9 guys (ie. Trouba, Schiefele, Stuart, Ladd, Wheeler, Little, Lowery, Morrisey, Buff (if he stays). Guys like Jokinen, Setoguchi, Tangredi, Enstrom, Wright, slater, etc. are overpaid scroungers.

Some concerns and questions over today's presser: 1. When asked how much money the provincial NDP govt. put into the event he answered - about 4 million. 2. Giving 4 million to an event where the expected 'profit' is only going to be around $3.5 million seems to be a money wash. 3. Comm. Cohon repeated a couple times that the bombers have to cut cheques to the govt. for 4 to 4.5 million a year. Thats true but not one payment has been made to date, even with the bombers showing profits. 4. A couple media asked why the Bombers didn't bid on the 2016 event where they might have a reasonable chance at even participating as the western combatant. I think thats a valid concern. The answer may lie in the fact the bombers required an infusion of fresh cash for operations and the Grey Cup was used as cover for darkness. 5. The 4 million the Premier confessed to handing over was probably not the end of the cash drip. I believe the city is on the hook for an undisclosed sum, too. 6. When Wade Miller was questioned about how much the bombers had to pay for the rights to hold the cup he instantly became defensive and refused to disclose. This is a public organization (so we are led to believe) and the money we provide to the organization is publically disclosed; however we cannot be privy to what the bombers had to shell out to Mr. Cohon and the league. I suspect part of the 4 million the premier advanced to the team was used to provide this undisclosed pre-payment. 7. Obviously, public disclosure has always been a problem with this organization regardless of whether it was Ken Bishop, Lyle Bauer, Garth Buchko or Wade Miller running things. 8. If the profit on this event is going to be 3.5 million (or more) for the team why does the team need 4 million (plus whatever the city is going to covertly kick in)??? To me, and I'm obviously not a cost accountant if the profit for the event is 4 million but the province and city kicked in 5 million doesn't that equate to a 1 million dollar loss? Please correct me if I'm wrong! 9. Lets say the Grey Cup brings in a 5 million profit (incredibly successful). Does that mean the NDP govt. (or probably PC by the time all Grey Cup monies are accounted for) will get the 4 to 4.5 million dollar payback that was promised when the stadium deal was set in stone? 10. The stadium payback was to be on a 45 to 50 year basis. Already 4 years have passed by and no payback. Bob Irving said the bombers will be announcing a profit in late April/early May (according to W. Miller). If they don't exceed 4.5 million does that mean the public trough will not receive any money? My own personal opinion (different from the above questions) is that the deal will be re-formatted to delay repayment of any monies for at least another 5 years - and at that time another re-set can be effected. The Bombers basically got a free stadium from a weak and indecisive Premier who has lied before and will lie again (No PST, remember). What new con can Selinger package out when talk of re-payment starts again. And this time it was Commissioner Mark Cohon who made the mistake of opening his yap and talking about something that should be totally verboten around bomber brass. Even Selinger has been told to back off from asking for payback. From a taxpayer point of view the best payback would have been: 1. A long-term seat tax of between $1 and $2 per exhibition and reg. season ticket and $3 to $5 for playoff or Grey Cup ducats. During a non-playoff year this would re-pay $300k to $600k and during years with playoffs probably $500k to $800k. Over a 50 year period, using an average of $500,000 per year this would equate to 25 million. 2. If the stated intent of 4 to 4.5 million payback is just a long-term ruse then adjust it downward. Make the bombers pay a portion of their TV & radio money - perhaps 1 million per year..... over 50 years thats 50 million. 3. Percentage of net profits - if the team makes $500,000 minimum net they should repay 15 to 20% annually or up to $100k per year or 5 million over 50 years. If the team averages 2 million a year then 20% is $400k annually or 20 million over 50 years. Note: if the amount owed is re-paid prior to the 50 year period all payments to the govt. should cease. More money should go into the bomber reserve to pay for stadium repairs, football operations, training, unexpected liabilities, training, etc. The Bombers should be made to pay for the things they contracted to pay. If any of us want to buy season tickets, bomber merchandise or promotional suites its cash on the barrelhead. Why should it be any different for them? A proper repayment schedule fosters goodwill not only with the football interested public but with then entire public. It shows a willingness to be a contributor to society rather than just takers of public purse money. The current Premier is obviously not prepared to make any form of demands on the club. He's awash in tons of his own scandals and caught in a torrent of lies and deceit that will probably result in his resignation within a year and a new government in less than 2 years (PC in all probability) But I'd like someone to tackle the first question I raised. About 4 or 5 million going in first. Basically a grant. Set against expected profits of 3.5 to 4 million.

Hope Asper doesn't contract Osama to rebuild the press box!

They need far more than just one player. Obviously, current goal-tending is just average. Even a giant cereal box would block 85% of shots in typical NHL contests so a guy with a 89.5 avg. like Pavelec isn't gonna get it done. How many years can we still keep calling Evander Kane - the next one or The Natural? Bogosian has regressed under the current regime. Paul Maurice is a very good coach but I'm not so sure he wants to be locked up for the next 4 or 5 years trying to work the whip on a deficient AHL/sub NHL roster. Also don't like Jets coaching staff w/ Huddy and Pasquale Dupuis. I do like Keith McCambridge on the rock. Love Schiefele and Trouba but surrounding them with AHL quality players isn't gonna get it done. The Jets have nothing left in the tank and the only good thing is they may drop enough in standings to give their GM a better 1st round pick - maybe #4 to #7 instead of #9 to #12. But I suspect they'll win enough games once officially eliminated to pick #7. Like iso I'm also really miffed about Kevin Chevyldayoff. Clean cut, really good verbiage to the public, gets along well with owner. Arrow smooth and ram-rod straight. Just not doing much. A slicker version of Joe Mack if you will. Which instantly spells trouble!

Kinda disappointing if they were courting Walrus Wylie they didn't pull the trigger and have him out at the combine, evaluating the 3 top hogs, one of which will be a bomber!!!

The only reason Gill is a good first pick is that he has virtually no NFL chance. Although he ballooned up to 302 lbs. he stands only 6'2". I saw him play with the Bisons and he was man-handled by a good double team and always seemed to be in chase mode unless a team made the mistake of running right at him. Bombers need a quality o-lineman in the Brendan Labatte mode - and thats where the game is afoot. The best ol in CIS (Tardiff) is seen to be a high percentage NFL developmental project. The next guy may go back to school. The Bombers need is NOW. If they can get Gill in the 2nd round (11th overall) I'm good with that. Coombes wouldn't fit into the current bomber way of doing things whereas Toronto would be an excellent destination. That said, I'd still take Coombes if he was available in the 3rd or 4th round. Once we secure a top hog in the first round our main need would be a quality canuck receiver or someone who could play safety (Mike Edem type that Slow Joe passed on)