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It's weird that other teams won't take our players and give us better players in return.

...opening Wednesday in Florida. Ted Wyman: BRADENTON, Fla. — Unable to secure a big-play receiver through free agency, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will have to go the in-house route to fill a void that haunted them last season. The process of unearthing that potential gem started last year when the Bombers brought in promising but CFL-untested receivers Corey Washington, Kenbrell Thompkins, Charles Nelson and Kenny Lawler. It continues Wednesday and Thursday, when the Bombers’ scouts, coaches and management will take a look at 15 American receivers at a free-agent camp here at the IMG Academy. It’s expected about seven of those pass-catchers will move on to the Bombers main camp — assuming the league’s labour impasse is resolved — in May. “It’s generally a passing thing and that won’t change,” Bombers general manager Kyle Walters said of the mini-camp. “It’s heavily loaded on receivers and defensive backs. “The goal is to find receivers who can help right away but the track record of the CFL shows that for a rookie receiver to come in and learn the playbook in a two-week training camp, it’s very difficult. When we look at these receivers, it’s less about ‘We think he’s gonna come in and start Day 1,’ it’s ‘We think this guy’s got a chance at some point during the year, once he learns everything and figures out what he’s supposed to do.’” Of the 38 players invited to the camp, 29 will be either receivers or defensive backs. There will also be two quarterbacks, three running backs and four linebackers. There will be no linemen or kickers and all of the players in the camp are true American rookies. Some are under contract, others are neg-list players, and still more are free agents who are in on a tryout basis. The Bombers already have 16 receivers under contract and nine of them were with the team last year. However, only three of those players — Darvin Adams, Drew Wolitarsky and Nic Demski — were season-long starters. Thompkins saw the most playing time among the others, making 29 catches for 421 yards and one touchdown in 12 games, while Washington got into three games and Nelson got into one. The Bombers also have second-year Canadians Daniel Petermann and Rashaun Simonise in the mix and both should push for more playing time. In all likelihood, one or two of those players will be starters in 2019, though there is certain to be fierce competition throughout this mini-camp and the full training camp. “The biggest one for the receivers this year is the guys who we had last year that were all in their first year and ended the year with the team,” Walters said. “Those are the guys I expect to step forward. Guys like Corey Washington, Kenbrell Thompkins, Charles Nelson, Kenny Lawler. Those guys made good impressions on us last year in their first year and we expect them to make the big jump. They were the names last year that jumped out. I think those are the young guys that are going to have the advantage, strictly based on seniority.” On the other side of the ball, the Bombers have a whopping 21 defensive backs under contract and nine of them are returning. With the departures of Chris Randle (released, signed with Ottawa), Kevin Fogg (signed as free agent with Toronto) and Taylor Loffler (signed as free agent with Montreal), the Bombers have holes to fill, but have a decent base with veterans Brandon Alexander, Marcus Sayles, Anthony Gaitor, Chandler Fenner and Jeff Hecht all returning. “We hope there are some tough decisions at the end of this because that means we’ve got a lot of good guys and only a few of them are able to make it to training camp,” Walters said. “We do want to see guys physically taxed for a couple of days. We want to put them through the fitness tests and give them the once-over. A big part of this is to see who can handle the fitness component. If you struggle getting through a couple-day camp, with full training camp just three weeks away … they need to be in good shape and be ready to compete, which will be a big part of the evaluation process.” This is the first time in five years that the Bombers have held their mini-camp in Florida. For the last few years, the camp has been held at Investors Group Field and has included a mix of American and Canadian rookies, all of the quarterbacks and some veterans. Because of the contentious collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the CFL and the Players Association, this year’s camp is limited to first-year players. That means the quarterbacks in mini-camp will be rookie Bryan Schor from James Madison and another pivot that will be added at the last minute. “They’ll get plenty of work,” Walters said. “I said to (assistant general manager) Danny (McManus) that he might have to chuck the ball around, or (quarterbacks coach) Buck (Pierce). We’ve got some backup arms in house, if needed.” While there are no guarantees the Bombers will find stars or even starters through this camp, these kinds of players have become vital to CFL teams in dealing with the salary cap. “You’re gonna see around the league, I think, with the escalating salaries, that something’s got to go,” Walters said. “Teams are gonna be relying on a lot of these young guys to come in and contribute. We’re no different. We’ve had young guys in the secondary come in and play, linebackers, D-linemen. “From the American side, you have to be able to rely on your scouting department. With the way we’re operating the salary cap, even with guys getting certain raises on our team, then something’s got to give. You need to rely on some young guys, I call them first-contract players, to come in and contribute.” The job of finding the best first-contract players available falls to McManus, who is director of U.S. scouting, director of player personnel Ted Goveia and director of college scouting Ryan Rigmaiden. Now they have a chance to see how the players move in person, how they show the athletic ability that was previously seen on tape. Some of these players haven’t been playing football since they got cut from an NFL camp. They’ve been training and but now it’s about getting back into the mould of playing football. Are they able to do some of the basic things that the coaches ask them to do? Follow directions? Line up where they are supposed to? Do their job? “This is the slowest it will ever get during the season as far as your instruction,” McManus said. “You’re gonna have some nice one-on-one instruction with the coaches. Once you get into rookie camp, the speed picks up a little bit more. Once main camp starts, things go 100 miles an hour. If you’re not on top of it as a young player right now at this camp, you’ll be lost by the time we get to the middle of May and the veterans come in.” The scouts have had a challenging year, with the creation and demise of the Alliance of American Football and plans for a re-boot of the XFL adding to an already packed scouting season. The AAF training camp and season may have actually helped the scouts identify some potential CFL players and Walters expects a few players from the now suspended league to be at mini-camp. “Ted and Danny and Ryan, they’ve done the legwork on these guys,” Walters said. “Now it’s a chance for them to see them in person. The scouting has been going on for a couple of years with some of these guys and we are finally getting them in. We haven’t seen them play a lot recently, so it will be a good chance for those guys to see them. “‘Here’s what these players have done in the past and maybe they don’t look 100% in game shape, but you saw glimmers of what we saw. This guy has a huge upside, he’s just out of shape or he’s rusty.’ “It’s an interesting process to not just go with the top five guys. It’s the top five guys that might be lifting the Grey Cup — helping us win the Grey Cup — not just winning the free agent camp.” BLUE BOMBERS MINI-CAMP ROSTER At Bradenton, Fla., April 24-25 Player Pos Ht Wt Age College Malik Boynton DB 6-0 190 22 Austin Peay Terrance Baldwin DB 5-10 180 22 West Liberty Malik Reaves DB 6-2 200 23 Villanova Christian Boutte DB 5-10 190 23 Nicholls State Joe Este DB 5-11 200 24 Tennessee Martin Eric Patterson DB 5-11 195 26 Ball State Mykkele Thompson DB 6-1 195 25 Texas Jimmy Pruitt DB 6-0 205 26 San Jose State Amari Coleman DB 5-11 188 22 Central Michigan Chinedu Okparaku LB 6-1 210 22 Fairmont State Dale Warren LB 6-0 225 23 Chatanooga Otha Peters LB 6-0 235 25 Louisiana-Lafayette Jarnor Jones LB 6-3 210 24 Iowa State Bryan Schor QB 6-2 215 24 James Madison Jalen Simmons RB 5-8 205 27 South Carolina State Larry Rose RB 5-11 195 23 New Mexico State Marquell Cartwright RB 5-8 203 NA North Carolina A&T Dom Williams WR 6-2 200 26 Washington State Garrett Johnson WR 5-11 175 23 Kentucky Rasheed Bailey WR 6-2 200 25 Delaware Valley State Evan Clark WR 5-10 190 23 St. John’s Tim Wilson WR 5-9 170 25 East Stroudsburg Kenny Walker WR 5-9 188 25 UCLA Dennis Parks WR 6-0 200 24 Rice *At least 16 more players to be added Wednesday Twyman@postmedia.com

Anyway, enough trolling out of me, I thought TLJ was weird and decent but I can understand how it might frustrate people who want different things from Star Wars than I do. The thing I am stoked for now is The Mandalorian. The cast looks great: Pedro Pascal (the Red Viper from GOT) in the lead role, with Carl Weathers, Nick Nolte, Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring from Breaking Bad) and Werner Herzog as an old Imperial slimebag.

Good. It was a stupid question, anyway.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/d-oh-canada-pm-trudeau-to-be-portrayed-on-the-simpsons-1.4389275

That's exactly what I heard. Poor us. we did our best. It's really hard. Boo hoo. Seems like it's a Winnipeg pro sport team style. Do not ever admit that you didn't play that well. Didn't earn your millions of dollars paycheque. Andrew Harris, one of the guys who never lacks for spirit, and effort, is not afraid to take personal responsibility after a loss, to say he should have played better. One of the reasons fans admire him so much. My level of respect for some of the Jets players has gone down a lot after this season. With this attitude, expect the same result next season.

I wouldn’t want to lose Myers because we under value him only to hope the jets go out and get a player like Myers at the deadline

Friesen absolutely had it coming. Don't forget the Bombers banned him not that long ago....

Bit of both... missing out on Stone was a real bummer and Statsny too... but Manitoba can't compete with Vegas taxes and weather so there's that Broissoit, Beaulieu - these are two Chevy diamonds in the rough... Kulikov, Morrow - less so... Not sure who could have helped this defensive system though - maybe Bobby Orr. Real test will be what Chevy gets for Trouba...

Finally. Good riddance to you and your garbage posts.

Until that crutch breaks too. Funny - how Winnipeg had to solve its own financial problems.

You mean besides the Myers/Kane trade I guess... and the extensions to our core group?

Hayes and Trouba sound like they are already gone...

Have to say that the post-season interviews are not inspiring... I'd rather here that Laine is hitting the gym and working on his game... or here more urgency/anger from the players instead of Blues were a bit better, its tough, we were injured...

Even Clark seems like a legit CFL prospect. Sounds like a hard worker but didn't play in division 1 but can run a 4.42.

Does not compute - That was an era when the Leafs didn't make the playoff for 8 consecutive years

Tilly just became annoying this season.

so here's what FotWJ has to say about contracts coming up: These are the Jets RFA's & UFA's Among the RFA's Trouba is the big question mark. The Jets are not going to allow him to walk away after next season and it seems the Jets and Trouba's agent have until the draft to work out a long term deal. if not, a trade is very likely. With the UFA's many will be gone. Unlikely the Jets can afford Myers & Hayes next season. Tanev and Chiarot will be at the top of the list to resign but both could opt for free agency and get more from another team. Of the other NHL experienced UFA's Lindholm is a possibility to resign. With serious cap issues next season, the Jets need players still on ELC's. Poolman, Niku, Vesalainen and Appleton fit that bill. Roslovic should get a regular spot in the lineup Mathieu Perreault while having a modified no trade clause, may still be on the trade block as they look to save on his 4.25 million salary. It will be an interesting off season and the benefit of being out early is more time to negotiate with the free agents. RFA's and UFA's bummer, I'd hate to have to retire this GIF though

He had it coming agreed... but 10 shots is no one's 'best' If this team gets away with saying the Blues were just 'better', its a joke... the Blues just wanted it more - Jets looked disorganized and distinterested - two blown third period leads...

It was to Friesen.

Every review and what I recall from the show itself said 30-31 century. But they did say it wasn't certain. https://www.space.com/star-trek-discovery-season-2-episode-14.html https://screenrant.com/star-trek-discovery-season-2-ending-future-explained/2/

IDK that was a poorly managed Leafs team from 2005 to 2012 - debating whether or not to rebuild & overpaying for talent. It's pretty hard to judge any coach they employed in that era.

Avalanche look like the last season Jets.

Changing a rule two weeks before the draft is bush league. Worse when it only benefits two teams, one of which has been run like a tire fire.

Yup. He got away with it. The bastard.

It depends on the class of the creditor. Creditors are classified, the highest class getting paid first. Secured creditors will get what's owed to them. But most won't, including the players.

In my opinion, a vote is more than a vote. It is where we set our "price" on various aspects of society vs self-interest. Albertans made a choice on whether their own self-interest was more important than human rights, the environment, education and health care not realizing that these things are also in their self-interest. The majority voted for a party that has no qualms about undermining democracy in their own party and has aligned with far right hate groups. Voting for the UPC was essentially making a personal choice and naming the price a person was willing to pay to ignore these disturbing factors. Manitobans will soon name their price. Is a 1% pst cut really the price someone would pay to support a government that takes back $25 a month from the poorest in our society after the government just spent $173,000 trumpeting the tax cut? In my mind, that's a moral failure and beyond the price I am willing to pay.

He's obviously being paid by the hour but it must be like picking through a landfill site for beer bottles.

How would that even work? The AAF season was like 10 games. Buy the contract now they are playing 18 games? The contracts are also USD. The players would have no obligation to go along with it either. They aren't property.

Another spin to this crazy story... Good luck with that

In my ideal world, the NHL season is 70 games long. Begins on Oct 1st, ends on first week of March. Then 16 teams make the playoffs, and four rounds of best of 5 hockey follows. The Stanley Cup is awarded at the end of April.

*waits for TBurg to say we're in cap hell and can't afford to pay 1st round prices*

Anson Mount has done a great job. I guess his time is coming to an end.

That is not good. Strange and dumb that alliance of american football players were told they could sign in the NFL, but not the CFL.

Other than Stasny or Hayes the past 2 seasons, we can't or refuse to trade for better players. We can't sign the ones long term that we do. Do players hate Winnipeg that much as a place to play or is this failure the fault of the GM?

More about his coaching style, approach etc.

A profession, a captain and leader in name only with an uncalled for outburst like that. He wasn't good enough in that series along with the majority of his teammates.

I haven't been impressed with our GM for the last calendar year. More misses than hits for his moves.