Eternal optimist

I wouldn't really say it's a good sign, it just means that overall the fans were generally happy with the 2016 season - made the playoffs, had a winning season and took steps forward in several areas of our game. A lot of activity this time of year would usually only be from disgruntled fans talking about firing so-and-so and mismanagement of the team overall. The Bombers extended O'Shea and Co. so that argument is put to bed and I think most of us are just slightly disappointed at how far away the next home game is at this time of year. I always find January to April to be the longest time of year because of this.

The inherent problem with a bureaucracy is that it is a government that takes care of itself first. There will always be some level of mismanagement as a result of this. In addition, government entities face the issue of a lack of competition to keep them in check - a poorly managed private enterprise will just go belly up in the free market. Personally, I just can't wait until the Trudeau government honeymoon is over and the Bank of Canada finally admits the need to raise interest rates to stay competitive with our neighbors to the south. That is when things will really get interesting in both the real estate market because the millennial generation have some growing pains realizing how much debt they are actually in and the joy of watching the provincial governments (including our own) struggle to find ways to service our mountains of debt at higher interest rates.

I'd like to see Bo Levi Mitchell hah...obviously that won't happen though. Based on the current market I'd pass on Ray based on his injury history. Everyone seems pretty high on Franklin but I think we'd be overpaying for an unproven player. I guess Durant? Seems pretty slim pickings...

Due to how frequently players change teams in the CFL, I have two rules whenever I have a name stitched on the back of my jersey: 1. Player has to be retired 2. Player must've won at least one Grey Cup for the Bombers. As a younger fan, it forces me to do some research into some of the older players that I didn't know about because I wasn't around when they played. Suggestions that satisfy this criteria: Kenny Ploen, Greg Battle, Leo Lewis etc. Doing so means I'll never be stuck in the awkward position of having the jersey of a player that went south (Chris Matthews) or signed elsewhere (Odell Willis). It also gives me a chance to learn more about the Bombers. Just my two cents.

I love when Bomber players get involved in the community. Kudos to Mr. Leggett for contributing and remaining an important part to our city both on and off the field.

Let the Riders, and only the Riders play with 13 men on the field. I'd love to hear Jonesy explain away how the league is against them after another losing season with 13 men on the field.

Interesting, learn something new everyday I guess. If they don't, they really should. I guess by the very nature of PI it's almost always going to be a judgement call.

I think we can all agree PI calls is the biggest area needing improvement, if possible, I'd update the books to have a more clear, concise definition of what exactly pass interference is, if possible make it measurable and more black and white. Possible suggestions: 1. Instead of the ball has to be "catchable" (which is subjective at best) how about in order to call PI, the ball has to land within 5 yards of the receiver. It'd force the receiver to continue to try and make the play, instead of giving up on it because they know PI will be called. 2. Maybe find a way to define what "hand-fighting" actually is, and whether or not it is allowed. Even if you just had a laundry list of what situations PI is considered to be...I know it wouldn't be perfect by any stretch, but if the referees at least had a measurable set of standards to be met in order to call PI, it'd help in a number of ways... it would make it easier to train them as well as easier for the players and coaches, because they could then actually coach players on what they can and cannot do. As it stands right now, players are often robbed of good, clean plays with a tacky PI call, and coaches often will throw a challenge flag just on a whim in the hopes that command centre rules the defensive player sneezed too close to the receiver.

2017 CFL season slogan - make Saskatchewan great again!

We should pry Jabar Westerman from B.C. for the sheer confusion of having the Westerman/Westerman combo.

The problem with trading away draft picks is you rarely get the value back in return because the team trading for the draft pick (even if it's first overall) is trading on the basis of what the expected value of that pick is worth. There's no way to tell whether or not the pick will actually develop into something worthwhile. Teams often low-ball the team trying to trade away their pick because they don't want to get burnt trading away a proven player/asset for a draft prospect with lots of potential that never develops. Even if a drafted prospect ends up developing into a good player, they can end up getting picked up by the NFL, retiring, signing elsewhere (free agency), or just taking a better paying job and quitting football altogether. Just as an example, here's the first round picks from the 2013 draft and where they are now: # Player name (Team that drafted them) - Where they are 1. Linden Gaydosh (HAM) - Now with Riders (via trade) 2. Andy Mulumba (WPG) - NFL (released by Chiefs) not currently playing 3. Mike Edem (MTL) - Now with B.C. (signed via free agency) 4. Corey Watman (SSK) - Now with Argos (signed via free agency) 5. Steven Lumbala (MTL) - Now works in oil and gas industry 6. Hunter Steward (BC) - Still with B.C. 7. Brander Craighead (CGY) - Retired/doesn't play 8. Matt Sewell (TOR) - Now with Riders (obtained from S. Lemon trade) 9. Nolan MacMillan (OTT) - Still with Redblacks These results are just based of the 2013 CFL draft wikipedia page, so don't crucify me if they are off a little. So, of the 9 players picked first overall: - 3 don't play in the CFL anymore, of those, 2 have found non-football related work and will likely never play again. - 2 players ended up playing, but signed elsewhere (through free agency) after their initial contract expired. - 2 are still under contract with the team that drafted them (successful developments) - 2 were traded elsewhere, Sewell never reported to the Riders. So really, a draft pick is just a shot in the dark... and that's all that you end up getting in return, usually a "rental player" (e.g. Alex Hall) or a player that is considered somewhat of a cast-off/injury prone (e.g. Patrick Neufeld)

Just adding fuel to the fire here, but I think Solomon Elimiminien is a pending free agent as well.

New contract: $100,000 a year, $350,000 bonus on condition he leads the Bombers to a Grey Cup win, he gets his $450k contract and the Bombers would be happy to pay him that if he met his bonus Everyone wins

Love the rule change to make the convert point a longer field goal attempt. Having it no longer a gimme makes for much more interesting games. That missed point by Calgary arguably lost them the Grey Cup.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Bo Levi Mitchell and Co. for becoming the first 15-win team in CFL history to get to the Grey Cup and choke. They are in the process of finding out who they are right now.

Other fun facts, last time the Bomber won a Grey Cup: 1. Pluto was still considered a planet. 2. Nunavut wasn't yet a territory. 3. The US president was George Bush (the first one).

Here is a quick look at the Stamps regular season records since 2007 (the last time they posted a losing season): 2007: 7-10-1 2008: 13-5-0 (won Grey Cup) 2009: 10-7-1 2010: 13-5-0 2011: 11-7-0 2012: 12-6-0 2013: 14-4-0 2014: 15-3-0 (won Grey Cup) 2015: 14-4-0 2016: 15-2-1 From 2007 through 2016, they've posted a 0.689 winning percentage. Although not complete dominance, posting 9 consecutive 10+ winning seasons is pretty impressive, even in the CFL. The last time the Stamps missed the playoffs was in 2004 (4-14-0). I'd argue they are already a dynasty since year after year they manage to remain competitive and in the top half of the league, regardless of the pieces of the team they lose through free agency or retirement.

With all the stadium talk here, I'm still bitter about how stupid the Bombers looked at the start of the 2012 season when we pleaded with the CFL to schedule 4 road games at the start of the year to "give us more time to build our stadium"... only to have to concede and eventually use Canad Inns for the rest of the season. Then in 2013, we looked even stupider with the parking fiasco, I remember the first home game, the stadium was sold out and only about half the people made it to opening kickoff because of traffic... On top of that, they encouraged fans to bike to the stadium, and within the first few weeks of the season, a Bomber fan cycling to the game had already been killed. It looks like they've managed to get things under control now, to an extent, they've been more organized as a whole, and they've used things like the after-game DJ parties and before-game tailgate parties to help reduce traffic congestion around kickoff. I think the fans will return once the Bombers have a few good seasons, people have to remember that before the 2016 season, the Bombers went 3-15, 7-11 and 5-13.

No way would I make this "trade" - not even in Fantasyland.

I fully expect Calgary to win the Grey Cup this year, but man I hope they fall flat on their faces because of this guy.

For those that are curious, if it is a Stampeders/Redblacks Grey Cup, the current largest margin of victory record was set in 1923 when Queen's University won 54-0 over the Regina Roughriders.

I know there's been talks on here of the Bombers needing a reliable, tall wide receiver Nichols could rely on as a deep threat. Just adding fuel to the fire here, but since he was released... how would people feel about Duron Carter? I know he was released for locker room etiquette, so it'd be hard to imagine O'Shea coaching him.. but Carter certainly has talent. Based on what happened this year I feel Carter might be a bit humbled after being released by the Als. He might also have something to prove, and could be signed at a reduced rate because of the stigma around him.

That's actually exactly what my sister (who has Jets season tickets) does, she just raffles them off to friends/family for anyone who wants a specific game (for example, if someone living in Winnipeg that grey up in Edmonton wants to see an Oilers/Jets game), then keeps a few for herself. I agree it'd be crazy to try to go to all 41 home games between October and April, that's almost like have a part-time job and would be a big time commitment.

As someone from the "millennial" generation I can testify to the fact that in terms of financial aptitude, my generation is a bunch of idiots. The majority of people in my age bracket don't bat an eyelash at the thought of putting Jets, Bombers or any other "fun" expense on a low interest loan, credit card or whatever other financial instrument they have access to. "Buy now pay later" isn't an advertising gimmick, it's a way of life for some people. As mentioned by others, the Jets are still selling out. I remember when they came back talks of how you had to commit for 3 years of season tickets, I've also heard 5 years, does anyone know how that works? If it is 5 years, one would expect some Jets fans to possibly convert to the Bombers after the 2016-2017 Jets season - since that would be 5 years since the original 2011 signup. I also think at the end of the day, there is only so much disposable income for people, and obviously as of late people have chosen the Jets over the Bombers. Based on the past few years, I can't blame them, but hopefully a few more +.500 seasons and the Bombers will see their attendance bounce back. Final note regarding interest rates - I can't wait until they actually rise again, reward the savers for once!

By definition, a courageous or "ballsy" call has to have some level of risk associated with it, so it's expected some of those calls won't work out. I actually thought his overall ability to manage games improved this year over the prior. As a whole though, we have to have better time management there were definitely a couple of times this year where it should've burnt us, but we managed to get away with it. You can only play with fire like that for so long though.