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The CFLPA bargaining committee

Why is this negotiation happening now, and why was this not taken care of months ago. failing grade on that point

So, once Canadians have been removed from the league, why not just change the rules to align with the NFL? You want to attract NFL rejects, at least play the same rules. Easy peasy. Then, we're seeing the "best" rejects, all Americans, playing the sport by the rules they grew up with.

it's about precedent....they lose one now, then next CBA lose another, maybe 2.... and eventually it's at 0 Canadians. I stand by the players who refuse to start this ball rolling. I just really hope there's a way to get the owners on board with it.

what a ******* mess....this is all my fault for going in on season tickets this year. I ****** the season....

pretty tough to come back after 3 yrs...pretty much 2 yrs with no real training from injuries when guys now are ready to go 24/7 365 days a yr.....he may have been having a good camp, but others are having great camps...younger...massive upside and cheaper....it's more and more a young man's a the new breeds game...speaking of which any word on how Harris is doing in T.O....not from media, but maybe from someone who has some eyes out there? I like our roster talent brought in to compete at WR and if we had to send some walking to keep Saunders I would have considered that a fail...I couldnt see him being the 2017/18 version

Still couldn't have hurt to let him play in preseason, no?

I think the CFLPA royally screwed this up but at the same time I am completely in favour of keeping the Canadian content. I also like it kept simple (no snap percentage) as that makes it easier on casual fans. I very much enjoy watching the best players compete in the NFL but can still enjoy the CFL for what it is. Take away the Canadians and you're left with a weird copy of the USFL and XFL, both of which I have no interest in. I like that our team is run by a bunch of Canadians. Reducing the opportunities for Canadian players has a downstream effect on a lot more than people think.

again, this has never been about "watching the best football possible" because that's what the NFL is for. This league, to me, is about showcasing Canada and Canadians. As far as I'm concerned, the Americans are just here to fill out the rosters because there aren't enough Canadians...

The CFL does way too much navel gazing on the product and misses the big picture. Remember when they set the blocking rules on kick returns so that basically only a perfect block chest to chest was legal? They overcomplicate things to the point of stupidity. That’s my major issue with this roster rule change. How the hell do you administer these rules? Take away one DI (won’t matter anyway if all the punters are Aussies), add two Canadian roster spots and axe the ratio completely. Now the refs can call a football game instead of having subs reporting constantly, and you’ll have the same number of Canadians playing. Is anyone worried that 20 imports will play the entire game on a 46ish man roster?

Why on Earth would I care more about a random back up WR from the US over a Canadian? I would rather that Canadian get the backup spot then someone who played for William & Mary and ripped up the Colonial Athletic Association.

Sometimes, life chooses your path. Cliff was a great advocate for victims and their families.

Mucklevane (???) too......apparently having a camp....

Quite surprised re: Saunders release but I'll trust the judgment of the Canadian Mafia.

I hope I'm wrong, but reading Twitter today, I'm not holding my breath on the revised proposal from the CFL passing either....

Just going to let this topic fade away.

From my one report he honestly didn't look like he was running at the same pace as the other receivers. Especially for a guy that isn't that big. That said, it is highly unlikely that I know what I'm talking about Save the money for NFL cuts

Oh well, worth the shot.

Yeah they brought in a bunch of talented guys that seem to be having a good camps along with Grant.

Not surprised at all

Nothing will ever change in America as it strives to become the toilet bowl of the world

Yep, I'm aware of who the Hyphen is. Just thought Hyman, who also scored, deserved some praise as well.

What I would like to see is the ADDITION of 4 (or so) developmental roster spots for 1st (and maybe 2nd year) Canadians in which skill levels can be worked on throughout the year to earn full roster spots later. [The taxi squad would remain the same except 4 players bigger.] In this scenario they would be paid 50% of the minimum salary, they would not travel to away games (keeping costs down) but would dress for home games; they would only play in a home game if another player was declared injured and out of the game (subbing in). That's how I would like to see that $1 million spent that the commissioner is throwing around. Gaining an extra year or two in skill development means more long term jobs for Canadian players.

Yup. This is exactly what I was arguing before. This seems to have backfired spectacularly.

the CBA they voted down...to refresh....was for 7 Canadian starters....same as before and an 8th one...who was a naturalized american...and.....u could have up to 3 more....if u wanted to/were able to....take additional reps for a Canadian starter up to a max amount...essentially allowing you to rotate more freely....would preserve players more, and yes...prob make every team stronger....and the guy on our roster who would have been not dressing...would have been maybe Krahmda...Hallett...Oleary Orange or whoever that guy was that started before him.....any one of our special teamers or back ups for that matter...not a starter....but now...seeing as they poo pooed the CBA...yup....maybe a Thomas...or whoever was going to replace Desjarlais will loose the starting spot...so a major eff up by the membership now...as there will be no going back and they essentially lost a Canadian spot...so its accept and play...or dont...and not get payed....nothing like painting yourself in a corner for no real good reason

Naylor tho....he been wanting full blown Americana forever...so he could be embellishing or twisting things too...who knows...I think the reduced ration is more for cost savings, and the ability to plug and play more seamlessly, and also have the ability to attract better players...specifically QB's, as they could pay more.....you can have 2 cheaper and better interior olineman, and that alone would prob save you 200k a yr in salary to get a guy to come North....same could be said along dline....thats Where I think the teams are coming from...and it could impact butts in the seats if a team was able to pry a top rated college kid away from riding the pine in the NFL They do need to get with the times in terms of marketing...social/digital media and fan interaction thats a given

Too much of an ask. I’m not commenting on fair or not fair, I’m just saying the PA has extended their demands too far to be taken seriously at this point. Do I think it was a deal they should’ve voted in originally? Absolutely. But I don’t have a vote and that’s not up to me. I’m in a union myself and I do respect everyone’s right to choose based on what they prioritize. But to think they can go back to the bargaining table and ask for MORE when the CFL is just going to turn around and say why should we offer more when you can’t even get a proper voter turnout? It’s just poor bargaining work, which is why I say they’re very clearly out of their depths with this. The NFL had poor turnout but the CBA got voted in (barely) and that’s a huge difference. There’s no swing in leverage there. Now that it’s been voted down, the first question the league is going to ask at the bargaining table is “why was the deal good enough then but not good enough now?” and they’ll point to the poor turnout and argue that with a better turnout it would’ve passed. The tough part is that as they do it, they’re also likely right. It’s a huge swing in leverage in favour of the league, especially paired with the fan optics trending in their direction all of a sudden as well.

Kane, despite his many flaws and faults, is a skilled player and playing with McJesus will only enhance that. Gretzky had the same effect - he even got Semenko to score 5 playoff goals in 10 games one year!

I don’t have to read the offer to know the players have mismanaged this. They had an incredibly bad voter turnout on a deal they proposed and now they’re naive enough to think they’re going to get a better deal. That tells me all I need to know.

Absolutely, we've just heard a few conflicting things so it's hard to know if this is a single issue or if there' a few things stalling the deal. I do not think the ratio should be reduced, but I also like the idea of rewarding/benefits for a "naturalized" American. I'm having trouble reconciling it, so I can see why it's so hard to negotiate.

This may have something to do with it.

the benefits of being a finisher for McJesus...

That’s kind of the problem with the fluff coverage. Who isn’t having a good camp?

Muckelvene has some awesome video out there. Can't dig it up right now but he looked great on tape

That's highly speculative but is definitely one possibility. If I were a betting man I would suggest he was getting beat by other players. We have a good crop of recruits and the TC reports seem to suggest some of the young guys have been standing out.

Alberta does crazy stuff all the time and Ottawa ignores it. Quebec and Alberta are brother's in arms in terms of racist gov'ts.

Wondering if he was the one who chose to pack it in

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?

Also... their leaders treat their own citizens like disposable waste. Example... leaded water flint michigan. Not one person held to account. Even though it was done with full knowledge. Example.... police at a bridge during Katrina, forcing people (black) trying to escape flooding, back to the flooded area. (Turns out... cops murdered people.) https://youtu.be/-5FKkEF7F3M no healthcare...insulin ten times canadian price. Blatant criminals like trump walk free. Low downs go to jail for stealing a pack of smokes. For profit jail. Supreme court corruption. religious "leaders" have two jet airplanes, while sucking cash out of their congregation. never ending foreign war, creating hundreds of thousands of trained killers. Of course people go nuts with the system they have.

The American culture boils down to this : My wants, desires and beliefs are more important than anyone elses or anything else. Including the lives of other peoples children. Any society that requires armed guards to defend their children is sick and broken.

Matt Dunigan Michael Bishop Robert Marve Kliff Kingsbury Taylor Loffler

This is ridiculous. If it bothers you so much call the Bombers.

We already have an All Canadian football league called U Sports & no one watches or cares. They don't even fill 2,000 seat stadiums. You'd be watching alone as no one would come with you.

Think he meant Nugent- Hopkins..😊

Escaped with the win but we know which Smith showed up tonight. 132 feet... 🤮

Hey Mike. I don’t know if anyone was ever able to answer this but I can… Surely you know that there is always a difference in taste when comparing Old Dutch boxed chips with the same flavour in the bags. There is a big difference. The easiest comparison is that of Old Dutch’s most popular, and staple potato chip, Old Dutch RIP-L chips. Originally, there were no bags of Old Dutch potato chips. Are you old enough to recount that? Hah, err… I am. Old Dutch box potato chips are superior to ALL Old Dutch potato chips in bag. Plain and simple, this is the way. I had a buddy whose sister works at the Old Dutch plant in Winnipeg. Without divulging any secret recipes or methods in preparation or bagging, what it comes down to essentially is that the “twin pack” bags found in Old Dutch boxes keep the freshness and taste that the chip is meant to portray, best. Don’t believe me? Buy a bag of any flavour in box and that same flavour in the bag… Ripple chips are how I began to question this exact theory. Now, some flavours are only available in box, or in the bag. I don’t eat anything else but RIP-L, BBQ, Ketchup and maybe Salt n’ Vinegar, once in a while, but those are the ones that exactly prove my point. Those particular foil bags that they use in the twin pack boxes are a secret. They are what keep the chip the absolute freshest. Old Dutch box chips > Old Dutch bag chips. That still doesn’t answer your appeal though, does it? Okay, so let me shoot this your way. Out on the east coast, oddly, Old Dutch potato chips aren’t seen (or purchased, for that matter) like they are here, on the prairies and in Ontario. So what did they eat out east, you ask? Well, from what my close friend and native Newfoundlander told me was a variety of different brands including Lay’s, Ruffles (which are now sold together under “Frito-Lay”), some smaller brands, and an interesting brand called “Humpty’s”. Now, finding a bag of Humpty’s is near impossible these days because they were bought out by a couple of different companies, one of which you may know and like. They’re called Old Dutch. When the rights to bag and distribute some of the types of flavours Humpty’s had, Old Dutch chose to bag and distribute Humpty’s BBQ chips, even going as far as removing THEIR OWN version of BBQ chips entirely. Yep, there was a time when Old Dutch removed their BBQ chip recipe completely off the market. MANY very p!ssed off customers from Western Canada wrote in to Old Dutch HQs in utter disgust of this imposter BBQ flavour now found in Old Dutch chip bags AND boxes. After roughly a year or so, Old Dutch wisely decided to bring back their flavour favourite BBQ chips we all grew up loving endearingly. So now, Old Dutch sells their original BBQ chip flavour exclusively in the boxes while Humpty’s BBQ chip flavour is distributed in the bags, also the reason why the graphic is different on the box than it is on the bag. Classic Old Dutch BBQ chips always had the roaring campfire and BBQ was written in “log-letters” as the recognizable flavour logo. The Humpty’s BBQ chip flavour on the bag has a graphic of a comic hibachi BBQ and some goofy font. So yeah, that’s the story of why the bagged BBQ Old Dutch potato chips, to this day, don’t taste like Old Dutch BBQ boxes. Old Dutch box potato chips are superior to the bagged, in flavour and in freshness too. p.S. I tried to include a photo of the bags and boxes but I kept getting a red background upon pasting and could continue. It’s easy to find the two photos though. Just type “Old Dutch BBQ chips box vs bag”

I imagine if this went through, those part time Canadians would be paid less and back-up imports (who meet the nationalized criteria) would earn more. I don't think guys like Woli and Thomas have the same earning power if they're benched half the time.

Stan the man with a plan