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Damage control:

CFL management seems hell bent on killing the league

Cmon cfl wtf.

I'm disappointed that Wade is heading up that committee, if all that info is accurate. Especially the stuff about entirely eliminating the ratio...

I keep reading the 10-year deal, so that must be a true proposal. There's no way the players should sign a 10-year deal. That's asinine. It seems as though this 10-year deal is coming in really late, no? If you're going to throw something like this out, shouldn't you work with that from the initial negotiations? I'm not a labour expert, so maybe I'm wrong. Also, I may be wrong that this is coming in late. I have no idea when it was first proposed but we only just started hearing about it? Camp better start on time. The CFL/CFLPA are playing with fire, if they don't.

I'm just one guy (though I know there are a lot like me), but I 100% watch because of the Canadian content. I have no interest in the CFL without Canadian players. I suspect there are a lot of people who feel the same.

Wade Miller doesn't have the career that he did if there was no ratio. Walters likely never makes it to his current position as the best GM without the ratio allowing him to begin in the league as a player. MOS maybe never gets a fair shot and a HOF career never happens

The Canadian talent is getting better and better. Yes, we lose the top players to the NFL but we're still getting elite Canadian talent here. Don't change the ratio.

This entire thing just pisses me right off. Canceled season, short season and now this? WTF is the league thinking? Starting the season on time should be priority #1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

If he wants to be here..and we can sign him for sure u make that happen. Mourtada kicked well...yeah he missed but they were on line...straight...and solid. His alignment was out of wack...and yeah it was a hashmamrk thing...he was overcompensating for the wider angle...I look forward to see what this camp shows..and his kick offs were great...95 percent of them he dropped right inside the goal/ten yard line close to sideline....perfect placements....I know he punts too..just not sure how accomplished

A month ago, there were reports that a broad-spectrum vaccine might be ready as soon as this fall.

People started to ignore the science because it disagreed with their opinion. Yes there was lots of info, but the science is constantly changing and public health was/is trying to keep on top of all the latest. I'm not the smartest guy out there, but I appreciate having the latest info always. I trust our public health officers and completely understand the difficult job they've had.

He would have been a lousy punter anyhow.

fun read: https://www.cfl.ca/2022/05/06/last-man-up-burtenshaw-thrilled-as-final-draft-pick/ The last man selected in the 2022 CFL draft didn’t see his name, at first, when it popped up on the draft tracker Tuesday night. He was too busy plotting his next move. The selection process had been methodically unfolding for hours and as things were winding down during the eighth and final round, Konner Burtenshaw was no longer hitting ‘refresh’ on his computer. He was, instead, pacing the room and wondering what he’d have to do next in order to keep his dream of playing pro football alive. “I felt my mind starting to race a little bit,” the 26-year-old fullback says, admitting that his hopes of being selected had been pretty well extinguished at that point. What was he thinking about? “What the next steps would be if I didn’t get drafted.” But just when it seemed like it was all over, Burtenshaw’s girlfriend, Abby, screamed and called him over to the computer. With the 74th and final pick of the draft, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers had chosen the Queen’s Gaels grad. “It was really nice seeing my name up there,” Burtenshaw says, proudly. Over the last few weeks and months, we’ve gotten to see a lot of information about so many of the top prospects in this year’s CFL draft and good on them, because they’ve earned that. But all those stories have been told. This one, a story for the less-heralded, has not been told so much. They also deserve some attention. Konner Burtenshaw, a work boots and lunch bucket football player who’s been grinding it out on his university team’s kick cover squads for four seasons, the final pick in Tuesday night’s draft, is a poster boy for those who’ve been flying under the radar but hoping that someone, somewhere in the CFL, will take notice. Things are moving at kind of a frenetic pace when Burtenshaw pauses to talk a little about what’s coming. “I’ve gotta be in Winnipeg in five days,” he says, energetically, the glow of the previous night’s excitement still brightly lighting his demeanor. Some of that excitement included a call from Winnipeg Head Coach, Mike O’Shea, who welcomed the last player selected to the Bombers’ organization, offering up some words of praise and encouragement. That’s something that has Burtenshaw even more fired up as his first pro camp gets closer. Just before we have our conversation, I clicked ‘play’ on Burtenshaw’s YouTube highlight video to acquaint myself with him a little bit. I was only about 20 or 30 seconds into it before I thought “Oh, I know why Mike O’Shea likes this guy.” That’s because Burtenshaw’s enthusiasm for special teams missions was clearly on display. Then, about 2:10 into the reel, I see Burtenshaw hustling downfield on kick coverage against the University of Toronto. He takes on one blocker, then quickly another. Each of those blockers appears quite unhappy about the zest with which Burtenshaw has undertaken his role. As the play ends, they come at him. He shoves them both away with a little more of that zest, one right after the other. “Oh, now I REALLY know why Mike O’Shea likes this guy,” I muttered to myself. I point out to Burtenshaw that his highlight tape has me thinking that he is O’Shea’s kind of guy. He laughs. “I’ve heard that a couple times now,” he says. O’Shea is famous in football for so many things, of course, but one of them is definitely his great love of special teams and the physical maelstrom through which players need to navigate — or force their way through — on every kick. O’Shea had 169 career special teams tackles, himself, and he can get positively gleeful when talking about the controlled mayhem of football’s down and dirtiest discipline. When I mention that to Burtenshaw, his reply has me believing that his new head coach will love him even more when he gets to know him. “It’s almost medieval,” says Burtenshaw (who ought to know since he majored in history at Queen’s). “When you’re running down the field at kickoff, you kind of think of it like you’re charging a battle line. It’s crazy. When you step onto that field, it’s all business and you can go out there and you can smack some bodies around. It’s part of the game and it’s awesome.” Going to high school in Odessa Township, just west of Kingston, ON, Burtenshaw didn’t perform on special teams, really, at all. But he did just about everything else for the Ernestown Eagles. He played quarterback, running back and linebacker on a team that he says had just “20 or 21” players on its roster. At Queen’s, the special teams play came and Burtenshaw took to it. For four seasons he worked on that particular craft, with offensive touches being generally scarce. Over his final two seasons with the Gaels, the five-foot-10, 220 pounder did see a little more action as a backfield battering ram, particularly in goal line situations. “I got myself a few touchdowns,” he says. Burtenshaw’s work ethic and dedication are well-known throughout the Queen’s football community. Three times he was named the Gaels’ special teams player of the year, and he was made a captain in a vote by his teammates. “He’s very respected by his team,” says Gaels Head Coach Steve Snyder. “He’s not a very outgoing ‘rah-rah-rah’ guy at all. He’s respected because of his physical presence, his toughness, and because of his work ethic and his commitment to our standard.” “He’s had an instrumental role as, essentially, our most reliable special teams player, and a guy that’s played all over the field on specials making an impact for a number of years,” adds Snyder. “And he’s become one of the most dominant special teams players in the league.” Even if someone like Burtenshaw is a well-known and valued commodity at his school, it’s tough for players without a gaudy stats pack to grab an outsider’s attention as the combine season plays out. Some won’t get the chance, never seeing an invitation to even a regional combine. Burtenshaw considers himself fortunate that he got a shot at the East Regional in Baie-D’Urfe, QC, in March. “When I got my name pulled for that combine I kind of realized it was my opportunity to get some eyes on,” he says. “It was hard for me being only a special teams guy because I’m not getting 30, 40 snaps at running back or fullback. I’m only getting a few snaps here and there on punt and kick-off (cover), punt return, kickoff return.” Although Burtenshaw did not then receive an invitation to the national combine, his regional appearance likely helped to get him drafted. “I’m just happy that someone spotted me, you know?” Now, he’s a Winnipeg Blue Bomber and is about to get some lessons in special teams play from not only O’Shea, but from the CFL’s all-time leader in special teams tackles (210), Mike Miller, who is entering his 11th season in the pros. Miller, I should remind you, wasn’t drafted at all at the beginning of his CFL career, making the grade at Edmonton’s training camp as a free agent in 2011. “I’m excited to learn from a couple of the best,” says Burtenshaw of the opportunity ahead of him. He knows of Miller’s long-standing importance and production and is aspirational when he talks about what the veteran stalwart has been providing for so long. “That’s a role that I want to play,” he says. “I think Winnipeg is gonna be a perfect fit,” says the native of Amherstview, ON, optimistically. “He (O’Shea) respects and understands a Canadian player’s role in the game and especially my role in the game as mainly a special teams guy. I think it’s gonna be a great atmosphere, a great team to be a part of.” If the Bombers feel like giving him a look in the backfield while camp is on, Burtenshaw is up to it. “I think my biggest impact will be on special teams,” he says, “cover teams specifically. But I would never say no to the opportunity at fullback or running back. And I would do my best to get there as well.” As he has been doing through the entire process, it seems, just like so many unsung prospects have done time and time again over the years. Burtenshaw was a whisker away from not seeing his name on that draft board at all on Tuesday night and he knows there are others who did not escape that disappointment. He has a message for them. “The thoughts that were running through my head as the draft was dwindling down was just ‘What are my next steps from here? How does free agency work? How do I figure that out?’ I hope those guys are thinking the same way. And I hope they’re still getting after it and they’re not discouraged.” “It doesn’t matter if you’re drafted first overall or last,” says the final man taken in the 2022 CFL draft. “All it is is an opportunity to prove yourself as a football player and that’s all we need.”

I don't watch and follows the CFL because it has Canadians in it...and that comes from playing ball as a Canadian on both sides of the border...I watch as I like the game and want to be entertained...could care less where players are from, but just want the team I root for be able to field the best players they can...do I want to see all Canadians eliminated...would it make the overall talent better if they did....100 percent, that being said, you would still have Canadians playing as the Talent is there, and they know the game. I like the idea tho of rewarding team and player who has been with same team 4 consecutive yrs to be a naturalized Canadian, but cap it to a set amount allowed per team...you still have to have X amount of true Canadians, and X amount starting...also think that the DI should just be regular roster players, and drop the DI tag and restrictions to them...see no point in it as they are paid same as they would as a rostered regular, and would allow teams to benefit more using them more liberally and improve over all play. I get it...a lot of people are stuck on the Canadian stigma and say they would stop watching if they reduced or more specifically eliminated the ratio, o well...see ya later then, but many if not most of those are the old relic fan, being able to roster more "name" guys who some of the younger crowd may actually know who follow college ball, may attract a new breed and younger fan base...which is what this league needs....catering and pandering to just the wants and moansd and groans of the over 45..50 crowd won't grow anything....just saying

Not that tweet but the whole thing in general. That's where they are taking heat.

The USFL had to modify their plan after 1 week. The sensors in the balls seemed to be affecting kicks so they stopped using them on kicking plays. Haven't seen any updates (for better or worse) since that happened a couple weeks ago. https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/04/24/usfl-changed-kicking-balls-for-week-two-due-to-issues-with-sensor/

This is pretty serious stuff but I’ll wait until after and report it in a book I’ll write.

The power and potential of CRISPR is amazing (and horrifying in the wrong hands). MRNA vaccines are going to be game changer for so many types of illness.

Canadian Player ratio eliminate. another idea from whoever thinks Cfl should just become a crappy version of nfl. I would definitely be less interested in the cfl without canadian players.

It isn’t what I would call negotiating in good faith.

I like the elimination of the Vet American Ratio, but the rest... yikes!

Tyrone Jones. There may be better overall defensive players in the history of the Bombers depending on which position you consider, but there were few if any who could just take over a game with their dominance like he could when he turned it on (maybe Willie Jefferson is a comparable now).

Yes, I read that too. Darren Cameron, I think? I'll go look for the tweet.

Society is full of morons? Tell me more....

This is it in a nutshell. How does the game get better? How can they do this right before camp is supposed to open?

*NEW STOVE ALERT* WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have signed American running back/returner Greg McCrae and American receivers Eli Stove and Tavaris Harrison. McCrae (five-foot-10, 175 pounds, UCF; born: January 21, 1998 in Miami, FL) joins the Blue Bombers after a spectacular career at the University of Central Florida. There, McCrae left his mark in the team’s history books having earned himself the highest yards-per-carry with an average of 6.45. He ranks fourth in school history with 29 career rushing touchdowns and fourth with 2,620 rushing yards. In 2021, McCrae spent time with the Toronto Argonauts.

🤣

Their earlier tweet has more reaction if that make you feel any better. Besides, these tweets are their reaction to the heat, not the actual cause of it. There was a lot more talk on Twitter last night when the news about the ratio proposal came out.

That posts like his tend to get flooded with comments from people who are anti-mandate, etc.

May 5 PIT 2-5 NYR : Tied at 1 Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith will miss the remainder of the playoffs recovering from core muscle surgery, coach Mike Sullivan said on Friday. WSH 1-5 FLA : Tied at 1 NSH 1-2 COL : COL leads 2-0 DAL 2-0 CAL : Tied at 1 👍

As expected, they're taking a fair bit of heat online....

https://3downnation.com/2022/05/06/effectiveness-of-cfl-rule-changes-rests-with-leagues-conservative-coaches/ Credit where it is due, one of the best 3dn articles in a while. CFL coaching is stagnant and passive. Young fans want to see exciting creative play call and designs.

Oh man I want that in the cfl. That seems to be a lot of people's sentiment. The usfl crowds in the hub for away teams makes the argos crowd look like bama

I would be interested in this too. I wonder if you can pinpoint the time of the whistle with where the ball is? I would watch a USFL game but... ew... no.

What I would like the league to consider: "The USFL will use sensors in game balls to measure first downs during its inaugural season that kicks off April 16. The sensors will enable “first down measurements that are more accurate than ever,” the league said in a tweet. Referees will not use chains to measure first downs, a departure from the NFL and college football. A broadcast of a USFL pre-season game on Friday included graphics of the league’s first-down system which appeared similar to the line-judging system in tennis that is powered by Hawk-Eye’s ball-tracking cameras. " We all know about how difficult spotting the ball is.

The cfl needs To hear negative feed back from fans on this like the 4 down talk.

It's hard to believe that only 50 years ago, player's came North because the CFL often paid better.

Looks like the Russians might have a new submarine.

Oleksiy Goncharenko, head of Odesa regional council, said Russian frigate Admiral Makarov got into 'trouble' in the Black Sea overnight Around half an hour later, he posted an article from local news outlet Dumskaya which said: 'According to preliminary information, the frigate was unable to dodge the Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missile. 'The ship is badly damaged, but remains afloat. For now.' The Makarov is an Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate, one of the Russian navy's newest vessels and the most state-of-the-art frigate operating in the Black Sea.

That debate last night...

"JC Abbott is a UBC student, youth coach & life long CFL fanatic." In other words, a BC Lions fan boy which is why any article on 3DN that's written has little or no credibility. Funny how they won the Draft, isn't it? Coincidence??

On the whole, the demands by the CFL are absolutely ludicrous. The delay tactics and the exploitative bent of the current CFL proposal turns my stomach. My assumption as a casual fan is that padded practices should help maintain a high level of play, and a corresponding level of medical coverage/assistance seems fair. In my work the CFL’s stance is like being told to wear steel toe boots and a hard hat, but btw if you get hurt you’re ineligible for WCB… wtf

Priorities.

Not a chance we pass on Lirim if he's interested.

My nipples are hard.....

Leadership is knowing when guys need a kick in the ass and when they need a hug. None of us has any clue how any pro coach actually handles it, but we can assume based on the feedback that MOS rides the line as well as anyone...