bigg jay

CFL just put this out but haven't added it to the transaction page so it must be very new. https://www.cfl.ca/2023/04/03/bombers-add-to-linebacking-corps-with-joe-beckett/

Willie lined up a few times as a receiver last year (towards the end of the year). He never saw the ball but when he was asked about it, he basically said it's up to Buck as to whether or not they'd throw to him or if he was just a decoy.

First reservations group opened this morning and from what I've heard, reviews are mixed. My wife and her friend were both able book yurts and were done in less than 10 minutes. Other friends got the same old issue of being ready & signing in right on time, only to be put in a queue that already had about 5000 people ahead of them. Apparently with the new system you can be logged in from multiple devices at the same time to try to book so that could make the queue issue much worse than before. The new system was never going to fix the issue of limited supply and huge demand so it's still luck of the draw as to whether or not you'll be lucky enough to book something. Haven't heard of anyone being booted out of the system while they were waiting though, which was a huge issue previously, so that's good news.

If anyone knew or remembers longtime Bomber fan (and old OB poster) Pumper, he passed away a couple weeks ago.

A couple linebackers signed, in addtion to the punter. https://www.cfl.ca/2023/03/31/bombers-pair-of-lbs-national-punter-chris-maclean/

That's not what was reported at the time and even if the previous NFL window had been in effect, it wouldn't have mattered to Kongbo as it only applied to players going into the final/option year of their contract. https://winnipegsun.com/sports/football/cfl/winnipeg-bluebombers/cfl-nfl-window-situation-still-not-resolved-but-there-are-ongoing-talks-between-two-leagues

Couple of points here. 1) If the player is released (and not using the option window), they can sign whenever they're able to. Kongbo was signed to the Niners about 6-7 weeks after the 2019 Grey Cup (we released him about 10 days after GC). 2) You're not considering that some of these players are signing NFL Futures Contracts (like Kongbo did that 1st year) meaning they won't be available until much later in the year. He signed Jan 1st 2020 but wasn't released until September after getting hurt. 3) I don't think the NFL is looking for players who half-ass it during games and aren't willing to put in full effort. If they are hoping to make it to the show and get that money, that's not the best way to go about it.

Alford left during the window too. Had he not stuck with an NFL team last year, he would have still been under contract with us.

2019 - Bombers released Kongbo 2021 - Bombers released Kongbo 2022 - Bombers released Ford It happens more than you are suggesting and those are just recent examples from our team.

Eli was our back-up centre when he was here before, except for certain packages where he came in as a 6th OL. He's the heir apparent at centre now that Couture is gone - just a matter of seeing if he's ready right out of camp or not. Kolankowski will start if Eli isn't ready yet. Maybe they feel like there isn't going to be anyone available with more upside than they feel Adamson has? FWIW, Hodge, in his first mock draft, said that this year's draft is relatively light on OL.

Thanks for that. As I said not a slight against him, just that Tait is a GOAT when it comes to sports writing (imo). In hindsight, I probably should have left that part out of my post since Tait has nothing to do with Penn's articles.

Should help the system not get overwhelmed but the downside on our end is that you now go through the process on multiple times (if you plan to camp in different locations). My wife likes to go camping all over the place & does all our reservations. So now she has to plan to waste 4-5 mornings on this now instead of one. We'll see how it work out though - can't be any worse than it was before!

Resurrecting this thread from the dead since the new Manitoba camping reservation system went live today. Very similar to the Ontario Reservation System (which is not surprising since the company hired has worked on the Ontario & Parks Canada systems in the past). Much easier to use but the big test will be on Monday when the first day of reservations goes down.

Wonder why it took so long to make that official? https://3downnation.com/2022/12/04/running-back-james-wilder-jr-says-hes-been-released-by-elks-after-suffering-broken-neck-in-2022/

I'm liking these articles that our new scout has been putting out recently. He's no Ed Tait (no slight there, most aren't) but it's nice bit of insight into some of these guys before they get up here for camp & what goes into finally getting them to sign after years of being on the teams radar. https://www.bluebombers.com/2023/03/29/tales-from-the-scouting-trail-jordan-brown/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Haven't seen this posted yet. Looking forward to seeing this guy in camp. https://www.bluebombers.com/2023/03/28/tales-from-the-scouting-trail-aaron-sterling/?utm_source=dlvr.it

Yep, got reported back in October that he was on track to return before playoffs but got hurt again. Was only reported as a "setback" so I don't think anyone (at least outside the team) knew how bad it was until now. https://3downnation.com/2022/10/13/defensive-tackle-steven-richardson-suffers-setback-to-achilles-injury-will-not-play-for-lions-this-season/

There's no accounting for taste! Yeah if the CFL got the kind of support the NHL gets (from everyone... fans, various levels of government, media) we wouldn't be having this conversation.

I'd hate to imagine how bad it would be in Calgary if they didn't have a perennial contender on the field. As a fan, I could put up with a sh***y stadium/ownership as long as we were winning... take that away and what incentive is there to keep going & supporting the team?

The CFL is already sharing that information freely, just not live with a live stream. If anyone wants that info, it's available to them.

Been waiting for someone to mention this. 😂

Might just have been poor wording, potential new placekicker would have been more accurate. But yeah, way too early for that kind of assumption... I'm also expecting that this isn't the only kicker they'll bring in so who knows how things will turn out. I mean Justin Palardy keeps tweeting about his kicking (some wearing his old Bomber gear) so he could be our next placekicker! 😂

I assume he was expecting that as well. I wonder if it's not specified in the contract either way and that's the route the team has chosen to go. If the contract does say that it will be paid by installment, then yeah that's on him. And even if it's not written that way, I guess it's still on him (or his agent) for not having that part clarified.

Could be but it's not like this is his first contract or team. Jones himself said the Elks execs have put in a new policy (he doesn't say what it is though). The 3D article makes it seem related to the signing bonus in the contract. "Kevin’s got his things going on and we’ve got a policy with our organization. Our president and CFO have come with a new policy and that’s their prerogative. They’re above my pay grade,” Jones said in an interview with 3DownNation." "That deal included a $25,000 signing bonus, but the linebacker has been vocally unsatisfied with how the financial compensation has been handled." https://3downnation.com/2023/03/25/elks-chris-jones-expects-lb-kevin-francis-to-be-with-team-in-2023-despite-request-for-trade-or-release/

Bombers signed this guy according to the CFL transactions page.