Mr Dee

I don't know what could have gone wrong. They followed the Chris Jones directive "How to Get Rid of Deadbeats" to a T...

Pre Season CFL games being televised: Thursday, June 8 Hamilton at Ottawa 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt TSN Network Sunday, June 11 Calgary at Edmonton 7pm et/4pm pt TSN Network Thursday, June 15 Ottawa at Montreal 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt TSN2 Friday, June 16 Saskatchewan at BC 10pm et/7pm pt TSN Network No Toronto and no Winnipeg We need a new Commisioner!

For me, the next Commisioner absolutely has to have a complete knowledge of the CFL. A passion even. It starts there. Of course he has to have a brain, and be personable, but if you're not familiar with the nuances of our league, you just won't get it.

Oh, I don't know about that. After all, think how many teams could have fun throwing challenge flags...

Ed Hervey's not doing anything..

Hell of a last few weeks...retirements, firings, combines, mock drafts and lots of CFL activity... -Where are they now: former Hopkins HS star Terrell Sinkfield, who was in #Vikings camp last year as a WR, is switching to CB. And signs with them... CFL history Early attempt by #Rider fans to wear a watermelon fails miserably. After 3 games & nearly suffocating, they thought to add holes #CFL -40-Year-Old Randy Moss Signs Contract To Play Professional Soccer dailysnark.com/40-year-old-ra… via @DailySnark #Ticats offensive lineman Mathieu Girard retires at 25 #CFL #HamOnt wp.me/p65Ld4-5rV https://twitter.com/darren_cameron/status/850036779881295873 #Bombers name Marty Costello as their Offensive Line Coach. Marty worked with Coach Wylie in 16' coaching the line - gave up 2nd fewest QBS. Congrats @coachmartyc I've been waiting for this one. Great hire #Bombers -Matt Nichols CFL News -(Hervey) believes in a coccoon for his football team. #CFL moving the other way. Hervey didn't want to be part of that - @Morley_Scott #CFL -More accessibility, not less, is the clear wave of the future in the #CFL. Anyone need proof? Look at smashing success of #MarksCFLWeek. More on Hervey.. http://ckom.com/article/1447535/wray-morrison-good-ed-and-bad-ed Nathan Coehoorn "Crazy news out of Eskimo land. I wonder if giving pay cuts to a lot of veteran players had anything to do with it." A couple of days later...he retires.... ?‍?Montreal is the first team to hold a mini-camp this week in Vero Beach Florida. CFL Staff newcomers Darian Durant, Ernest Jackson and Freddie Plesius all expected to participate. Expect the Alouettes to take Durant through the paces and start working on absorbing the playbook. Where is SJ Green at with his injured knee? A new president, new general manager, a head coach in his first full season as sideline boss and dozens of new faces and the Alouettes are primed for a makeover. Training camp is where the physical work is put in but mini-camp is where mantras start. It is where schemes are presented up and where terminology is introduced. Mini-camp could give some insight into who may be early favourites to take the voids left by the departed Alan Michael Cash and Aaron Lavarius. Both are American-born and the Alouettes made it their mission to find national talent at the defensive tackle spot this off-season. In are Keith Shologan and Jabar Westerman and so to is Plesius who is primarily a linebacker but has played along the defensive front in spot duty from time to time. And what does a change in ratio along the defensive line mean for the offensive line? It is likely that the Als go with two american tackles so mini-camp good give Montreal a good look at the flexibility that might be available to them. http://www.cfl.ca/2017/04/09/stories-of-intrigue-as-als-open-mini-camp/ ?‍?Some good points and not. Read for yourself on the Hervey firing.. Posted by 3 DownNation, written by Allison Currie ?‍?Not a Good Point (lMO) - "Hervey suffered through years of mismanagement, watching Tillman dismantle the scouting apparatus in favor of his three-ring binders. He waited patiently, he knew what the team needed to return to its empire days and he held on to that. At a fan event prior to the 2015 season, Hervey admitted to those in attendance that he knew what it was going to take to right the ship, but kept it from Tillman in order to protect the team and organization." ?‍?Good Point - "I guess stepping into a total circus, making the playoffs nearly every year and a Grey Cup win isn’t the mark of a great general manager. I guess having a team lose substantial personnel to questionable moves a province over, yet still making the West Final isn’t enough." ?‍?Good Point - "The lack of connection between the Eskimos and the community – lower attendance – has nothing to do with Hervey. To put blame on a man who lives up to “once an Eskimo, always an Eskimo” is ludicrous. It’s also short-sighted, as problems began long before Hervey came along and are issues that have nothing to do with the GM position." ?‍?Not a Good Point "While unpopular with many mainstream media members, Hervey continued that protectiveness by limiting unnecessary gimmicks the media and league tried to introduce. From what I have been told, the live mic debacle stemmed from the Eskimos board of directors agreeing to the live mics, but not properly including football operations and the team in the decision. This left Hervey in a position to stand by his key players and head coach, Jason Maas, and not wear live mics during their game against Montreal." Article by Allison Currie (an Edmonton-based writer) http://3downnation.com/2017/04/09/len-rhodes-wrong-fire-ed-hervey/ So, what's going to break, in the news, this week?

Edit - Darren Cameron‏Verified account @Darren_Cameron 33m33 minutes agoOther note on mini camp coming up April 26-28. GM Walters held meeting w us yesterday - we will have up to 5 qbs at camp. 3 vets, 2 rookies.

I have to give credit to president Len Rhodes for making this very tough decision and standing behind what he feels is right for the fans and media in Edmonton. AND with each move made by various teams over the last few years...Sask., Montreal, Toronto, and now Edmonton, the further we (the Bombers) get away from being the team under the laughing spotlight...

Now THAT is a remarkable statement...

Well, knowing Harvey's support of "no live mics", I don't suppose we'll be hearing from Mr Ed any time soon. Can you say "that was part of the problem"? I can.

"Funny thing about first-overall picks in professional sports – a team doesn’t really earn the selection as much as it is the result of either stinking horribly the previous year or after landing it through a shrewd trade and some timely luck." These are the words of Ed Tait in his latest column "Looking Back at First Overall Picks" As usual, a good read... http://www.bluebombers.com/2017/04/07/looking-back-first-overall-picks/

I certainly can't explain how a blogger sees his overall board in regards to drafting players for each team. But, he does go into some detail as to how he arrives at his choices. This mock draft (bomberbuzz) is miles ahead of the 'getmoresports' version that was posted earlier. At least there is some logic and thinking that went into this draft and it is backed up by his reasoning. Posting a 1st round mock draft would be difficult enough, but to go 4 rounds is putting it right out there. I'm not sure it can work in any regard, but writing it up would not be easy and is fraught with the danger of lots of second-guessing. But the effort is there and the writing is easy to follow. And basically that's all we can ask in a write up such as this. So, he gets a Blue ribbon for his efforts even if we can't all agree with his choices. (*Word of the day)

The CFL draft just got a little more interesting with the retirement of OLman Mathieu Girard, 25, from the Ticats. The Ticats recently released Dyakowski on Feb 16 and now are short 2 OLmen. That definitely might affect who they choose when their name is called in the CFL draft. Now, rec, Vandevoort is not a sure thing any more as the Ticats may have to look at an O-Line guy with their 1st pick. This could change a few team's draft boards right off the hop.. http://3downnation.com/2017/04/05/ticats-offensive-lineman-mathieu-girard-retires-25/

Wade to go Bombers!

Nice 5 game winning streak and playing much better as a team. One small barrier struck down, but many other small ones to overcome. This team truly does have talented players and they seem to really enjoy playing together. Armia, Lowry, Little, Scheifele, Ehlers, Laine, Wheeler, Perrault, Byfuglien, Morrissey, Trouba, Myers, Enstrom...with help from Stafford, Taney, Matthias, Petan, Dano, Copp and sundry other veterans and rookies. Is next year the year they move along? With a new veteran goalie? A new defensive structure? We can only wish.

Crompton, straight out of....Montreal. And no, I also don't want him here.

Bomber current roster:

This statement alone contradicts any point you're trying to make...

If the receiver budget was already protected before Smith, his retirement just means that we do have extra allotment for receivers. If he was never in the picture for other reasons, then this talk is moot. If they feel Bailey is worth more than a complement to coffee, then this would be worth exploring. And don't worry, we have enough people (even on this board) who will find someone to diss, whether over coffee, or not.

For those still interested in what Smith's salary was...John Hodge (3DownNation) reports that Smith signed a 3-Year, $450,000 deal with the Bombers. As to who might replace Smith, Hodge throws out the name...25 year old Devon Bailey, (6'5" - 200) who is still a Free Agent. It's worth considering with the extra money...

Worst pre-April Fool's day joke ever..

I agree with this. It's not like our O is set up to concentrate on our NI receivers. If we get an amazing NI receiver, we'll still be using 4 imports recs. on O. It would be nice to have that flexibility of more NIs as receivers and I think they're working towards that. It really depends on what position they are targeting, especially on D. 2D and 1 O player in the first 3 picks? There s so much to consider as each domino falls in the players that are taken in the meantime. The only sure pick is the one they finally decide on with their first pick. In some ways, this is the toughest pick of them all...